Demand is currently improving slightly on the onion market. But prices aren't yet rising. "There's enormous pressure on onion sets. There are an awful lot of them. You usually have to buy from the farmers. However, they now have to get rid of these products. They want to sell them. So there are plenty this year. We're growing too many onion sets at a time when we don't need them," Gerard Hoekman of Mulder Onions in the Netherlands says.
"This onion set pressure also directly affects the later seed onion season. When there are many onion sets, seed onion prices don't climb either. Anything that gets in the way doesn't help price levels. Especially in a year like this, with its high yields. So, we're not off to a very good start."
"Large onion set prices are at around €0.11 to €0.12. Medium ones are selling for between €0.13 and €0.14. Fortunately, the demand is now broadening, especially in Africa. A batch or two are going to the Far East too. Though, lockdowns are still prevalent there. There's also demand from the UK. The prospects for getting up to full steam aren't generally so bad. Senegal's market-opening would be very welcome. But that could take another week or two," the exporter concludes.
For more information:
Mulder Onions BV
32 Hagenroder Street
6464 CP, Kerkrade, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 455 678 700
Email: gerard@mulder-onions.com
Website: www.mulder-onions.com