“Even producers who can artificially irrigate their fields are struggling with the weather,” the expert explains. It is like a small droplet on a hot stone. “The artificial irrigation is only a life-sustaining measure, which however does nothing to contribute to generating a yield increase,” Scheinder elaborates further.
Barely below average yields
The CEO of the German Zwiebelfachverband is counting on slightly below average yields across Germany. “Not only is the quantity of onions turning out less this year, but also the size and the calibre. In part, these leave something to be desired,” Andrea Schneider explains. “This tendency is clearly caused by the weather.” A positive side-effect of the drought would be, that the onion stocks are currently looking extremely healthy, thus the expert. Because of the drought, fungal diseases are not an issue during this campaign.
The price spiral shows positive tendencies
Regarding the demand of the consumers, the Fachverband is registering a slight increase. Andrea Schneider describes the situation: “over the past few weeks, demand on the market was a bit calmer. But now the market seems to be slightly drawing upward again.” She furthermore thinks that such a scarcity should not have to affect the market and the prices negatively. “The reduced quantities on the market have slowed down the downward spiral of the prices of the last few weeks a bit. Now, small tendencies in the other direction can even be recognized. Where this journey will truly take us will show in the coming weeks,” says the expert.
Andrea Schneider
Fachverband Deutsche Speisezwiebel e. V.
Weberstraße 9, 55130 Mainz, Germany
Tel: +49 6131 620562
Fax: +49 6131 62059123
andrea.schneider@bwv-rlp.de