How the onion market will develop in the coming weeks, is a big question for René Tiggelman of Van Langevelde Handelsmij. This company is based in the Dutch town of Kruiningen. "At the moment, at least, it is very quiet."
"Growers who do have large yields will be happy with the season. However, for us, as traders, it is not a good year. Rather give me normal prices and higher volumes. Then the job is better."
"In West Africa, the Ivory Coast is asking for small quantities. Mauritania has received supplies from Morocco and trade with Senegal is currently closed. It is, however, expected that a few more import licenses will be issued at the end of the month. Other destinations are also quiet."
"I hear that a small amount of onions are still being sent to Eastern Europe. People are enquiring about prices in Western Europe but no-one is buying. And countries in the Far East have imported a lot of onions from China this year. We need to win back these destinations next year. Contacts have been made and, if the quality is good, things will only be more difficult for us."
"Bale prices are under a little pressure. Currently, EUR0,44 is being asked for medium-sized onions. The large ones are going for EUR0,49 or EUR0,50. If you look only at demand, prices will have to decrease even more", continues René.
"It is, however, not that simple. Everyone is sitting with expensive onions. You also have to search for good quality onions. In general this year, we do not have the type of quality onions to send to far-off destinations."
"I do not know what we must do in the coming months. Usually, we supply Spain with large (60/80) onions. This is, however, not the case this year. France still has more than enough if its own onions."
"Personally, I find the German small pack market to be very challenging. This is due to the quality demands and all the risks of claims associated with that. We will just have to wait on the import onions", concludes this trader.
For more information:
René Tiggelman
Van Langevelde Handelsmaatschappij
4d Stationsweg
4416 PJ Kruiningen
Tel: + 31 (0) 113 382 600
rene@javala.nl
www.javala.nl