“Small extension of organic onions compensated by low production”

“The past growing season has been quite stressful and the weather conditions asserted themselves. Some batches were omitted due to rain, some batches do not grow because they have no leaves, and there were some structural problems. It is important that we are early on the market in the preseason, to sell the less storable batches. The seed onions season has started already and the demand has not let us down despite the holiday season. The quality of the yellow seed onions has positively surprised us after this growing season.”

“In the meantime, the first seed onions have been harvested. If the weather keeps perfect for growing, then the onions will grow in better sizes. The sizes 40 to 60 will be on the market in abundance, but if Germany, for example, cannot contribute to the market like last year, there might be a larger difference in pricing between the sizes than in previous years,” expects Rudie. “Organic onions will remain a niche product. Last year the pricing of red onions was very good and this results in an acreage extension this year. The quality remains an issue, however, especially if there are no mildew resistant varieties available.” 

Retrospect last season

“We are hoping for a better season than last year. Then we started expeditiously and the mood was good, but there were not enough onions in the preseason. The season did not go very well in January, which caused the stock to clog. Luckily, the prices were still acceptable, because the good price for the conventional onions ensured a baseline for the market. The batches we wanted to sell early kept hampering us. Because of germination problems, customers switched to imported onions. Eventually, many organic onions have been sold as conventional or sold to the industry”