“It seems growers have blind faith that things will go well this season. We’ll have to stay on track, though. Yields may be disappointing, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to an onion shortage yet,” says Wouter van der Beek of Uienhandel.com in the Netherlands.

This season looks very different to the last. “It’s gone from a deep valley to a peak. The market is somewhat stable now, though I expect we’ll have to first finish the off-season before taking the next little jump. Growers, in particular, have driven prices way up; they’ve skyrocketed. The exporters have to catch up, but that’s happening more slowly than with the growers.”

© Uienhandel.com

Added to that, sizing is vital in this season’s onion market. “There are plenty of small-sized batches. There’s actually no point of reference out in the field, because the sizes keep falling short. A lot of onions are around 60 mm, but that doesn’t make them 60s,” Wouter explains. “That’s the big difference. And there are genuinely few true 80+ grades. They’re out there, but growers are holding onto them, and no one wants to sell them yet, so buyers will have to shell out a bit more.”

On September 11, bale prices varied, depending on size, between €0.30 and €0.45. “I expect we’re only at the beginning of these price fluctuations. The shortage of large onions will definitely be the story of this onion season. Yet, with prices like these, supply always seems to pop up from all sorts of unexpected places. I’m now, for example, being offered large Polish onions,” Wouter points out.

He is not displeased with the onions’ quality. “There are the occasional bacterial issues, but overall they look great. There might be a few more problems with the onions grown on sand, but it’s still too early to draw any conclusions about that.”

“Fortunately, demand is broad, with Africa leading the way. Still, there’s still a lot of ‘seed onion mess’ that must be cleared up over there. Everyone’s busy settling claims so they can switch to seed onions, which are a lot pricier,” says Van der Beek. “That’s going to be a tough challenge for exporters. There will undoubtedly be demand, but we’re coming from a different price level than we were used to, so that will take some time.”

“I think England will be a major market player, too, especially for the large sizes. They’ll also have to adjust their sizing. I’ve noticed quite a bit of demand for red organic onions, too, but they’re almost impossible to find,” Wouter concludes.

For more information:
Uienhandel.com B.V.
De Kil 46
8255 RR Swifterbant
Tel: +31 654202242
[email protected]
www.uienhandel.com