Onion exports are still running at a relentlessly fast pace. "At the moment it is a very healthy market. Every purchase that our customers make has been good, because every week the onion price has increased again," says William Nannes of J.P. Beemsterboer Food Traders. Yet he is also careful. "Currently the bale prices are around 27/28 cents, but I hear that before April business is already being done for 25 cents at the farmer. I think that will be dangerous. In recent years we have seen more often that people found alternatives when the onions went towards 30 cents and then the entire export market could collapse like a house of cards. It's a very good market, but it can't get too harsh. "
"But at the moment it is still very busy, so the availability of containers has only become more limited. Senegal still seems to close its borders as of December 31, which means that everyone is trying hard to meet their quotas. This means a lot of onions are leaving by conventional ships. We also do a boat every week," says the buyer. When asked about his expectations for the coming weeks, William replies: "Until Christmas, exports will continue well, but what it will look like after that time is still very unclear. Europe has a fair amount of onions at its disposal. According to the math whizzes, a weekly export of 12,000 to 13,000 tonnes from January should be enough to get rid of the onions, but no one knows exactly what will happen."
For more information:
William Nannes
J.P. Beemsterboer 
Stationsstraat 17
1749 EG Warmenhuizen
tel: +31 (0) 226 396 464
wnannes@beemsterboer.nl
www.beemsterboer.nl