"With the current sales figures, there are still enough onions"

Low onion yields have led to high prices. This, in turn, has led to a decent mood among growers. Martijn van Damme of Dutch wholesaler, Dacomex, however, wonders if this will be the case for the whole season. "Farmers are fairly certain that that are too few onions. However, in my opinion, I dispute that. With prices as they are, clients are ordering significantly fewer onions. They are also finding alternatives. As a result, the market is lazy and expensive. I do not see this changing anytime soon."

"On the whole, the tonnage has been disappointing. Here, in the south-west of the Netherlands, there are a few plots that have delivered 40-45 tonnes of onions per hectare. Most plots, however, ended up with between 10 and 35 tonnes. Here, Schouwen-Duiveland and Zeelandic Flanders are the exceptions. In these regions, some growers are faced with the unusual choice of if is it even worthwhile to harvest their onions", says Martijn.

"At the other end of the scale, there are the outliers in the Polders. Here, 70-80 tonnes of onions are being harvested from one hectare. In the Drenthe and Groningen regions, nice yields are also being achieved. Those farmers are, however, well aware of this and are asking high prices."

"In the Netherlands, we have the capacity to export 40,000 tonnes of onions per week. Last season we managed between 30,000 and 35,000 tonnes. At the moment, I expect us to stay at around 15,000 to 16,000 tonnes mark for the most part. The exceptions will run to 20,000 tonnes. This will make for exciting situations. There are many companies that cannot make sales but have a lot of stock. It is also annoying and strange to stand still at this time of year. This is bound to cause problems with a lot of sorters", Martijn expects.

"Countries that usually buy onions at this time of year, currently have the choice of cheaper alternatives. Mauritania and Mali can get onions from Morocco and England is buying 'supers' from Spain. Senegal will also still be closed for a few weeks thanks to having local produce available. They are now saying the market will open in the second week of September. That is even much later than we thought, and it is still not definite", explains Martijn.

"Given the volumes already shipped, we are not off to a good start. Other buyers are cautious. I expect this year to take on a structural form. There is already pressure on the medium sizes. It is also a battle to get rid of all the triplets. Despite all this, farmers are still firmly in control."

"Generally, the onions are of good quality. It remains to be seen how the irrigated onions will behave. Thrips are a big problem this year. Even more so, now that many farmers no longer spray with MH. A lot of onions will, therefore, have to be gone by Christmas. The season is still long, but I fear that, currently, there is little to be gained", concludes the exporter.

For more information:
Dacomex
46 Provincialeweg
Sint-Maartensdijk
Tel: + 31 (0) 166 662 550
Fax: + 31 (0) 166 664 260
martijn@dacomex.nl
www.dacomex.nl