"There's currently little to be gained on the onion market," says Dignus Boone of Bowa, an onion sorting and packaging company in the Netherlands. "There's simply too little margin between the purchase and selling price. That's been the case for quite some time. Poland is taking much of the market's lower end and is paying plenty for it."
"Bale prices are at €0.19 to €0.20 for the mid-sizes, €0.20 for the large, and €0.24 to €0.25 for the supers. That's excluding packaging. Exports aren't too exciting either. The holidays mean many companies will be idle today and tomorrow. The question is whether trade will rebound next week when it's a full week," Dingus explains.
"Quite a few trucks have gone to Eastern Europe, but 22 tons per truck isn't nearly as much as ships with 2,000 pallets. Nor are the small packs selling well. Everyone's doing relatively well with these, but no one's making money. I think our onions' quality is reasonable, though very variable."
Many growers were delighted with the recent rains. "The onions have been nicely refreshed and are looking good. That's why I don't understand the current €0.18 off-land price. We remain cautious and aren't participating in that," concludes Dignus.
For more information:
Dignus Boone
Bowa
19 Weelweg
4414 AW, Waarde, NL
Tel.: +31 (0) 113 503 000
Email: info@bowabv.nl
Website: www.bowabv.nl