"Red onions on the move early"

"It all seemed too good to be true. We had good yields, good prices and good quality. Especially compared to last season: a dream scenario. Now it turns out that several stocks of red onions are affected by neck rot mould and the Pseudomonas bacteria. As a result, a large number of growers are forced to cull their stocks early. The peelers in Poland are busy with it and the Dutch peelers are affected because these peeled onions are offered very cheap," says Carl van de Wiel of Agro Centre Holland, a company that is completely specialized in red onions and shallots, from singles to big bags and small pack.

Carl at Fruit Logistica in Berlin

"The stocks with minor damage get onto the market and ruin it for the good red onions. This constrained greater supply of red onions from growers, and the subsequent lesser image of the Dutch red onion, have put prices under pressure temporarily. This is very annoying, especially for the growers. Fortunately, we only have good stock, but it would have been better for everyone if we all had good onions," says Carl.

"As soon as large parts of these onions are culled, there will be a lot more room for good onions; that means that prices will rise again. This year, less red onions were sown, and a healthy amount has already been exported. Africa is increasingly becoming an important customer. I expect that we will have far too little good red onions in stock to meet the high demand. That this big demand will come is a certainty. The question is, however, what kind of prices the market can handle. If prices are too high, especially compared to yellow onions, there will be less destinations," says the tader. "We hope that the healthy stocks will remain healthy. We can still expect a nice red onion season if that is the case. Caution is advised, however, because red onions are onions and with onions, you never know!"

For more information:
Agro Centre Holland
Carl van de Wiel
Noordseweg 11
4772 PG Langeweg (NB)
Tel. 0044 168 371230
info@red-onion.com
www.red-onion.com