Quiet and chaotic weeks follow each other in rapid succession on the Dutch onion market. There is no longer any question of the hectic (price) upturn of week 12. On the contrary, it is very quiet at the onion packing stations.
After many Europeans were advised by their government to stay at home due to the coronavirus, a response arose in which consumers started hoarding food en masse. Dutch onions were therefore a popular item in the second half of March, causing peak demand among Dutch packers and exporters. In the wake of the increased demand, bale prices also rose.
Two weeks later the market looks a lot different. The European destinations stocked up on a lot of onions during the purchasing wave and therefore have enough for the time being. The packing stations therefore had a very quiet week. Partly because of this, hardly any new batches are purchased from onion growers. The low purchasing appetite is also fueled by uncertainty about possible consequences of the COVID-19 virus. Packers choose to respond quickly and eliminate current stocks/obligations.
Bale prices drop
Because demand from packers is falling, bale prices are taking a step backwards. A few cents have been deducted from the bale prices across the board; an overview of the bale prices can be found in the DCA listing Bale price Onions.
The fact that traders and packers hardly buy additional consignments is reflected in the calm mood displayed by the stock exchange committees in Middenmeer and Emmeloord. Both committees recorded a small negative difference compared to last week. The Goes stock exchange, on the other hand, recorded a small plus at the beginning of the week compared to last week. If all quotations are compared, €30 to €60 is recorded for the 14-17% coarse sorting and €60 to €15 for the 18% upward sorting.