The Russian trade embargo is costing the Dutch onion sector tens of millions of Euro. This was said by Gijsbrecht Gunter of onion trader Monie from Nieuwdorp and president of the onion trade committee. The damage isn't just in the drop out of turnover. Due to the lack of demand from Russia the onion prices are much lower than normal. This is causing tough times in the onion sector.
Photo: @MonieNieuwdorp
New markets
A lot of new markets have been entered, such as Panama and Indonesia, which have somewhat been able to limit the loss. "But we were already working on this before the Russian trade embargo," says Gunter. "Breaking open new markets often takes years."
Sea clay
The province Zeeland is worth 35 percent of the Dutch onion production. "This is because of the excellent sea clay on which the onions grow well," says Gunter. The onions are sold in over 120 countries. This makes the Netherlands number two in the area of export. Only India exports more than the Netherlands.
Growth
Gunter is very positive about the future. "The population of the world continues to grow rapidly, especially in countries where a lot of onions are eaten. I expect 750,000 tonnes of extra onions to be needed on the global market each year. We need to take advantage of this in Zeeland." But this is easier said than done. "The quality is and will remain important. We need to continue to invest in it, or we will lose our top position in export. India is growing quickly and countries like China are on their way. So we need to watch out."
Innovation
Besides investment in the quality, new onion varieties are also still being developed. For instance, there is the new pink onion. It has a slightly different taste and colour than the regular onion. Pink onions are now being grown on 70 hectares in Zeeland. The onions mainly go to the Caribbean area, England, Greece and Africa.
Source: Omroep Zeeland