“As a result of the high prices, we sent very few onions to our African clientele this year. The purchasing prices were very high, and profit margins are therefore much too small, which is why we didn’t do it this year,”says Johan Kant of Kalisa Trading. The trader expects the onions to remain expensive until the end of the month or early July. “It also looks as if we can expect a good harvest of potatoes and onions. The situation is looking much better than last year, regarding yields. Quite a bit of rain has been forecast, and quite a bit has fallen as well. There was plenty of rain for the coming weeks, and the weather will remain changeable in the long term.”
Johan Kant in Egypt
This year, the trader mostly worked on the import of potatoes. “Normally, we export a lot of potatoes, but it’s more difficult to export them when they’re expensive. We saw that our own market needed potatoes, so we bought considerable volumes in Egypt. This year, we imported about three times as much compared to a regular year. This indicates the market needs import product. We stopped importing late-May, but we’d even manage to sell now. We’ve noticed there’s still demand, because prices are still very high,” Johan continues.
Johan has been in the potato business for 55 years, and he experienced a summer similar to 2018’s only once before.
“The summer of 1976 was very similar to last year’s, but these are very exceptional years. Last year’s prices, however, didn’t exceed €300/tonne, because we still had a surplus from the year before, and the market-price developments were kept under control. It doesn’t appear as if we’ll be having shortages in the coming season This year, the biggest potato area ever was planted in Europe. The area has never before been as large as now. Temperatures are ideal, and there’s plenty of rain. I think we can expect a great harvest for onions, potatoes and carrots. But with potatoes, it can always go in any direction.”
For more information:
Johan Kant
Kalisa Trading
Entrepotstraat 35
9100 Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
+32(0)37 65 07 65
Johan.kant@kalisatrading.be