"Onions - good sales for reds, disappointing market for pinks, shallots buzzing"

Red onion sales are going very smoothly at the moment. This is against the development of the yellow onion market. "I am very confident in the next few months. There is no stock in Austria and Spain, and there is also already demand from Italy", says Carl van de Wiel of the onion sorting and packing plant, Agro Centre Holland. This company is located in the town of Langeweg, North Brabant. "There is still a lot of stock, but there is also a lot of demand. I expect the red onion stocks will sell easily. The majority of Dutch red onions will be sold in the next six weeks. The most demand is from our neighbouring countries, but they also got to South, Central and North America, the Middle East, and North Africa."

What is noticeable this year is the high demand for the smaller sizes. "Usually it is difficult to get rid of the small onions, but there is currently more demand for small, rather than large, red onions", says Carl. According to the trader, there is little competition from other producing countries. "Egypt will come into the market at the beginning of May with their early onions. Qualitatively, they do are not yet competitive. As long as our quality is good, customers are going to continue with Dutch products. At the moment the onions are of good quality, even though there is a lot of difference between batches. Some of the batches should have been sold by now. The good batches can, however, still be sold in June."

Pink onion sales are going a bit slower. "They are only slightly more expensive than yellow onions. This is very disappointing as I was expecting higher prices", says Carl. In contrast, there is a renewal in the shallot market. "This market was dismal over the last year. France had a good harvest, but their stock is starting to dwindle now. There will now be more demand for our planted shallots. Fortunately, there is some movement in this market. It remains a relatively small market with a limited number of players."

Agro Centre Holland now also supplies its customers with onions that are processed in various ways - rings, wedges or diced. "We have a lovely assortment in which, especially, our pink onions are nicely presented. Things are going according to plan. You can offer customers something extra, and that certainly meets a need", concludes Carl.

For more information:
Carl van de Wiel
Agro Centre Holland
11 Noordseweg
4772 PG Langeweg
Tel: +31 (0) 168 371 230
Fax: +31 (0) 168 371 235
www.red-onion.com