According to Jan van der Lans, of Van der Lans International in Baarn, the consequences are visible. There is a discernible difference, he states, between Dutch onions and the imported ones from the southern hemisphere. "Essentially it is a different product, a new crop altogether! Of course it does affect us when the market is overloaded with old European harvest onions, but the real demand for New Zealand onions generally starts in May. We therefore focus on the late arrivals.” Van der Lans finds that many retailers start taking in import onions later in the season. "They used to start in early April, usually around Easter. Now it's May. The prices of onions from New Zealand, Tasmania and Chile are currently quite high. The transport costs have increased and they have to deal with unfavourable exchange rates."
The growth of the Chinese economy has meant that the export of apples and kiwis from New Zealand to China now exceeds that to Europe. "I´m not sure that´s completely true,” says Van der Lans. “For now, the Dutch onion is still cheaper than the one from New Zealand. At least in terms of transportation." The first yellow onions from new Zealand arrived at Van der Lans International in the second week of March. The first red onions from New Zealand are available from week 12. “Especially for new crop red onions, there has been much interest. After May we will switch to importing from Egypt."
