The new harvest of Italian onions is due in the coming weeks. Due to weather problems and the coronavirus it promises to be an interesting season.
"Workers, mainly from Poland and Romania, do not want to go to Italy. Less so even than to Germany. They are very scared because of the virus," said a German trader. After a very positive season for (Italian) onions last year, due to the drought and shortage in 2018, he is now definitely expecting a difficult 2020: "That's the only thing I can say now before the season, otherwise we'll have to wait and see".
The harvest will be delayed for a while: "This is partly due to weather problems. Many products in Italy had suffered from the frost and hail."
The first German volumes are expected in July. "It's still too early to make any predictions here. The weather is already very dry, we'll have to see how it develops. The harvest will depend on it."
At the moment the demand can be met with alternative goods from Germany and the neighbouring Netherlands. "To bridge the gap, the first volumes of the new crop from New Zealand are also being added. This share is growing increasingly. The market can thus be adequately supplied and there are no bottlenecks in sight."