Negative cloud over onion trade

“There’s a negative cloud over the onion trade,” Tjerk Nagel, of Frisian onion sorting and packing station, Konaxx Onions, says about the current market situation. “Cultivators are frustrated because they did not sell at the good prices in autumn, and they latently blame trade. Right now, the harsh reality is that people in onions don’t begrudge each other the loss yet.”

“Stocks in all regions – Zeeland, the polders, the peat districts, Friesland and Groningen – are larger than they have been in the past five years, North Holland being the exception. I don’t want to be gloomy, but this is the reality we have to face. Fortunately, quality is good, but you can tell cultivators with lesser batches are saying goodbye to their product. Superb quality is currently being saved, and the slightly lesser onions are being processed,” Tjerk continues.

“Everyone tries to keep busy, but it’s not always possible. Some is going to Africa, some to the Caribbean, and last week a fair amount of larger onions was shipped to Malaysia, but amounts are all not quite large enough. The Eastern bloc is on the market for much lower prices. In my opinion, the Russian boycott still has much effect, but not many people talk about that. If the Russians would be on the market, field crop prices would be between 12 and 15 cents, and that would be an entirely different market situation, but that is wishful thinking. Let’s hope this negative cloud has a silver lining,” Tjerk concludes.

Tjerk also unleashed his poetic qualities on the onion: