On August 7, the first Dutch onions of this season were shipped to Indonesia. The first inspection and certification for this country is the culmination of a long-term process to gain access for Dutch onions. The government and onion sector put a lot of energy into this.
Photo: Monie, the first shipment of onions to Indonesia is a fact
After extensive preparations, a delegation of Indonesian experts visited the Netherlands for a week in the fall of 2013. Afterwards, Minister Dijksma of Agriculture, signed an agreement in Jakarta, mid-November 2013. Part of the agreement is that plots where onions destined for Indonesia are grown, have to be sampled for stem nematode.
Late December 2013, over 500 hectares of onion plots in Zeeland and Flevoland were sampled and found to be clear. On August 7, the first inspection of the final product took place. There was extra attention for proper tracing and designation, but also for other additional phytosanitary demands, such as zero tolerance for onion fly and neck rot.
source: Quality Control Bureau KCB