The planted area of onions in China this season is not much different from last year, but their competitiveness has weakened and the export volume has declined due to many factors. Mr. Zhang Shuhan of Jining Greenstream Fruits & Vegetables co. Ltd. talked about the export situation of Chinese onions.
Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia are the main export markets for Chinese onions. "Some Chinese people have factories in Thailand and the Philippines, so onions imported from China can be marketed directly in the local market. Therefore, the yearly export volume is fairly stable. However, the Malaysian market is more volatile. In addition to price-related factors, compared with larger Chinese red onions (8cm), smaller onions (7cm) from India and Pakistan are more popular with Malay customers,” Mr. Zhang said.
This season, Indian onions are being exported to Southeast Asian countries in large volumes, further weakening the market competitiveness of Chinese onions. “The recent FOB price of Indian onions is about 180 US dollars per ton, while that of Chinese onions is about 230 US dollars, so we possess no competitive edges. The main reason is that onion is one of the main economic crops in India and is high in production. In comparison, the planted area in China is small and the production is low. At present, it seems that there is no room for the prices of Chinese onions to fall, which has led many exporters to almost suspend their exports."
"In my opinion, the fate of the Chinese product in the future depends largely on the policies and production of the Netherlands and India, two major onion exporters,” Mr. Zhang concluded.
More Information:
Contact: Zhang Shuhan
Company: Jining Greenstream Fruits & Vegetables co. Ltd.
Email: info@greenstream.cn