Based in Bapaume, in the Hauts-de-France region, SARL Acquette is a family business founded in 1976 that specializes in the production, packaging, and marketing of alliums and potatoes under the Ferme de l'Artois brand. Christophe Dekerle takes stock of the 2025 onion campaign that runs counter to the previous one, in terms of production and marketing.
© Ferme de l'Artois
A rather dry year
"On the whole, this year was fairly dry, which made it slightly more difficult to apply herbicides on some soils," explains Christophe Dekerle, head of development and third-generation working for the company. "With almost 1.9 degrees above normal this summer and 15% less water, irrigation was essential, starting in the spring. Despite these somewhat capricious weather conditions, yields turned out to be very good, with around 8,000 marketable tons, "well above last year's level." Sizes were more or less the same as last year, at 5/7, "which is perfectly in line with demand from supermarkets, our core market." While mildew has been contained thanks to the absence of humidity, fusariosis - and more generally bacteriosis - has been a problem (a major issue discussed at the Euronion Congress). "Production has been badly affected, with a higher than normal rate of cases," explains Christophe, who prefers to see this as a positive note. "In the end, it will certainly have helped to regulate volumes a little, as there are too many French onions this year overall."
© Ferme de l'Artois GLOBALSCAN®7 by Maf Roda
A very calm market at present
As with many fresh products, demand has been particularly sluggish since October. "The market is really quiet, which we cannot really explain." And while prices in the Netherlands have risen slightly (to around €0.18/kg [0.21 USD/kg] departing farms), prices in France fell sharply at the end of August before stabilizing. In 2024, prices had remained at a fairly high level. In supermarkets, on the other hand, the trend finally stabilized in November. As for the short-term outlook, Christophe Dekerle remains cautious. "As far as prices are concerned, it is difficult to say. Everything will depend on the situation in the Netherlands and its ability to export. At the moment, they are shipping a lot - with a record harvest this year - but if the country were to lose export markets, it could be problematic for the French sector."
© Ferme de l'Artois Down's CropVision+ electronic sorter
Investment in innovation
SARL Acquette continues to invest in quality. By 2023, the company had modernized its sorting line with the Pomone solution from MAF RODA, equipped with the GLOBALSCAN® 7 optical system for fine detection of internal and external defects. "Even when fusarium is in its early stages, the machine detects it and rejects damaged bulbs." The company also decided to install Down's CropVision+ electronic sorter, originally developed for potatoes but now adapted for onions. Equipped with artificial intelligence software, the machine performs effective pre-sorting before harvesting. This year, the company has also decided to automate the end of the packaging line, with automatic placing on trays and pallets, in order to increase output and reduce the workload for its teams.
For more information:
© Ferme de l'Artois
Acquette SARL - Ferme de l'Artois
11 Chemin des Anzacs,
62450 Bapaume, France
Phone: +33 3 21 07 00 36
[email protected]
[email protected]
fermedelartois.com
