"Closing borders, Senegal hangs like a dark cloud over onion market"

The onion trade is still in holiday mode. "It is currently pretty calm. Over Christmas some boats went to Senegal and Mauritania, but otherwise it was quiet. We need to have some clarity about the closure of Senegalese borders. Initial reports state that from 1 February the border will be closed and from January licenses will be given for 10,000 tonnes of onions, but it is unclear if this counts for onions already on the water. This issue hangs like a dark cloud over the market," said William Nannes of Beemsterboer.

"The border closures depend on the availability of local crops which could also affect exports to Mauritania and the Ivory Coast. We're concerned because if these three countries are not taking sales in the next three months, what are the options? There is still some demand from Eastern Europe, but we are not talking large volumes. Brazil can take large volumes but they are not taking anything just now, so demand needs to come from Europe and the present demand is too low for the sorts of volumes available."

According to Beemsterboer's purchaser, onion prices are not yet under pressure. "However, here and there, the packers have bought in stock for January. If demand isn't there and there are no orders we will be saddled with expensive onions. I expect the price to stabilise but will definitely not rise in the short term." Onion quality is reasonable. "There were quite a few parties packed with root rot which were hard to see at the time of shipment, which led to disappointment. The advantage now is that temperatures are reasonably high and time is passing which makes it easier to spot the root rot and limits the risk of claims from distant destinations."