"Quiet on export market for onions, sales not too widespread"

It is not too busy on the onion market at the moment. "All packers I speak to complain that it is just too quiet and we as exporters also notice this," Rene Tiggelman of Trading Company Van Lange. "Sales are not extensive. Time will hopefully bring changes."

"Africa is starting to build up quite a stock for the Feast of Sacrifice, but exports towards other destinations are not going too well. Exports to the Far East are just moderate. Hardly any goes to Middle America and nothing at all goes to Brazil. As for other European countries, hardly any onions are exported," Rene continues. "Furthermore there is an issue about shipping space for the export to Senegal and I have the feeling, that Ivory Coast are selling less onions than last year."

The quality of the onions is very good at the moment. "All onions harvested before the rain are of excellent quality and these are being packed in bales by very happy packing companies. The problem is really because of the demand for export," the exporter says. "Prices per bale of onions for planting are between 20 cents for the triplets up to 28/29 cents for the supers. And that is for the small sizes 3 to 4 cents less than last year. For the Feast of Sacrifice the Africans prefer the large sizes, but those are also, as with the onions for planting, not available too much."