The export of New Zealand onions to the Netherlands will again clearly lag behind in 2025. In recent years, exports from New Zealand have already been significantly reduced, but this season there appears to be no change in this. This means that exports are still well below the average level of previous years.
In 2025, the decline in imports of New Zealand onions to Europe will continue, despite the removal of the import duty through the New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement (NZ-EUFTA) introduced in May 2024. This agreement should actually make New Zealand onions more attractive on the European market.
New Zealand's export position under pressure
The growing conditions in New Zealand are currently a major challenge for achieving a good onion yield. Due to changing climate patterns, yields have decreased significantly in recent years. A smaller onion area is expected for 2025, partly because of this. Due to the challenging growing conditions, New Zealand growers are increasingly opting for varieties with more resistances. In general, increasing the number of resistances often has a negative effect on the final crop yield. According to insiders, this also ensures that onions often have less coarseness, which is often desired in Europe.
The demand for New Zealand onions has also declined sharply in recent years, partly due to changing preferences in important sales markets such as Germany, insiders indicate. Where in the past large volumes went to German retail, a different trend is now visible there towards local-for-local. The preference for locally grown products is growing strongly in Germany. As long as there is sufficient supply locally, or within Germany, supermarkets prefer to buy locally. Only when those supplies run out do they switch to (preferably) neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands or Austria. Only at a much later stage does import from distant countries, such as New Zealand, come into the picture.
Furthermore, the export of New Zealand onions that are still going to Europe is difficult due to delays in global shipping. Long transport times and high transport costs mean that importers are not immediately eager to buy New Zealand onions. In addition, African export countries are visibly gaining ground on the European market.
Egypt responds to European demand
In recent years, Egypt has become an increasingly important player on the international onion market. While Egypt used to grow mainly for the domestic market, the export market has rapidly gained ground. While in 2008, around 45.500 hectares of onions were grown, this had grown to over 2021 hectares in 100.300. Total production has also almost doubled, from 1,5 million tonnes to 3,77 million tonnes in 2021. In 2024, there will be significant production again, partly due to the export ban in 2023, which caused farmers to increase the area again in 2024. Insiders indicate that European buyers are increasingly looking to Egypt as an alternative as soon as local supplies run out, especially in the spring. Egypt has a strategic advantage in this respect: growers can start harvesting in April, sometimes even at the end of March; precisely during the period when the previous onion season in Europe is coming to an end and the new harvest is still a while away.