Netherlands: Imported onions popular, but retail priority lies with European product

Despite a large availability of Dutch onions, a hefty volume is imported annually from countries like Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Chile, South Africa, India and Egypt. The German retail In particular is a big market for import onions. Although the quality of imported onions is very high this year, Dutch importers are signalling an increasing trend towards local-for-local. "The retailers will go with the European produce for as long as possible."

Good start
Gerard Hoekman of Mulder Onions from Kerkrade speaks of good sales of imported onions this year. "Both demand and supply of New Zealand onions were on par, although right now supply tends to overtake demand, leading to a surplus of stocks. Normally, the import onion season runs from the first week of March to the last week of July. In recent years there has been a shift, with the season running a little late. Production is mostly fine, but fluctuations in harvest do occur.”

"The imported onions had a good start in March," says Danny Deen of Denimpex. "After Easter though, the market stagnated somewhat, because many packers again resorted to the old Dutch onions. Right now, the Dutch onions are no longer suitable for the supermarket, leading to increased import. Until the end of July there will be a great demand for overseas onions, because there is simply no alternative."

German market
The largest market for imported onions is still Germany, agrees Jan van der Lans, also from Denimpex. “They’ll go with the European product for as long as possible,” he says. "But once they decide to switch to the southern hemisphere, they won’t revert to Dutch onions. When the Dutch onions are expensive, it is more attractive to start importing onions, because the price differences are smaller. Still, I don’t this as a threat to importers. We boast a fairly large database of shippers who are loyal to us, so obviously we’re doing something right.”

Declining demand
Yet, according to Danny Deen, the reality is that imported onions are on the decline. "Before, there were still some 50,000/60,000 tons of onions coming in from Argentina. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s down to 5,000 tons, or even less. Demand is waning, probably as a result of better preservation techniques. Our neighbours advertise extensively with local product and try to reduce imported volumes. So it’s interesting to see where this sector is heading.”

More information:
jan@vanderlans.com
gerard@mulder-onions.com
Danny@denimpex.nl