“Terribly engrossing,” says Piet van Liere from FlevoTrade Dronten about the current onion market. “Export is nothing to write home about. Africa is still on the market a bit, dependent on the quota established. The big question now is how large the local harvest will be, and if there will be a second quota. Additionally, some onions are sent to the Caribbean, the UK and the Far East. Unfortunately, Brazil is not yet on the market. All in all, that makes export more difficult nowadays.”
“Farmers sell at prices around 7/8 cents, so they are also uncertain as to what they should do. Bale prices have dropped to a level of around 12 cents. That is not great, but it also increases our chances for global export markets, and offers the opportunity to enter new markets as well. The quality of the onions is good. They have a nice colour and the product can be sent all over the world. So that is a positive thing to be mentioned.”
The renewed acceptance of sprout inhibitor maleic hydrazide (MH) is currently keeping the onion sector in its grip. “After all, we have to accept the legal term that the manufacturer can send additional information. Let’s just hope that the government is clever enough to come to an additional agreement, and that they understand that much is dependent on this for the entire Dutch sector, from cultivators to processors and exporters. Without this agent it would be a disaster,” Van Liere concludes.
For more information:
FlevoTrade Dronten
Staalwijk 15-17
8251 JP Dronten, NL
+31 321 387 170
info@flevotrade.nl
www.flevotrade.nl