"Continuation of onion market clear as mud"

The price of onions is much higher than last year. "Buyers from abroad have to pay more for the onions and are getting a lesser quality than last year. And yet there are large amounts going over the border. This is because less onions were grown world wide. This is why the demand for Dutch onions will remain for now. If the quality declines this spring, the supply could increase and the market could be bothered by that. But if the demand increases, there might be a rise," concludes Leon van Meir of Van Meir Uien in his newsletter. "The onion market: clear as mud. In other words, it could go either way."

In the same newsletter he goes into the reasons for the large demand for onions. "There are a few reasons for this. In the Netherlands the climate has been different in recent years. A number of areas have had huge amount of rainfall. But the climate is causing trouble all over the world. The impact of these problems has been much worse in other parts of the world. This causes demand for agrarian products, including onions. But why the specific demand for Dutch onions? This is because we are able to supply good quality onions. Hardness, skin resistance and white onions are important aspects of a good bale of onions."

Pool A at Van Meir has been finished and is € 17.86 per 100 kg. It is the third highest price in the last ten years. In 2006 and 2010 pool A paid out higher than this year, €20.48 and €18.30 per 100 kg. Considering the amount of onions grown in the Netherlands in the last year € 17.86 per 100 kg is a good result.

Source: Van Meir Uien