Brazil: Imports from the Netherlands and Argentina threatens Brazillian onion market
At the moment, the price is good for farmers: a bag of 20kg of onion is being sold at R$20. But expectations on the import cause anxiety. The large Dutch harvest this year is worrying, as it will bring a large amount to the international market. Importers from Santa Catarina already closed some business by paying R$8 for a 20kg bag of Dutch onion placed in the Brazilian ports. This is half of the price made in the internal market.
Based on examples from the recent past, when imports disturbed the Brazilian market, Barbieri orientates farmers to fasten their sales contracts and empty their stocks. "Anything can happen, but it's very likely that imports will make internal prices to go down", he explained.