Unfortunately, Berlin has not provided any new insights into onion sales. Many European markets suffer from more or less the same problems and that is the sale of onions. This is not happening fast enough for the taste of European onion exporters, which is why there are all kinds of expectations about the pricing of onions until the end of the season.
Of course, this also includes very gloomy price expectations, the question being whether these will actually come true. But that also applies to the more positive expectations. The revival that could be achieved in the purchasing channel last week has not been followed up this week, but has become visible in the various quotations.
Tightness in the working stock was the reason for the slight increase in onion prices. Sorters are generally not convinced that the demand for onions will recover in the short term, which means that the onion market will respond on an ad hoc basis to demand developments. In fact, the strategy that has characterized trading all season is being maintained.
Even though the current demand for onions is not generous in terms of volume, sorters have to make do with the current demand. The total onion demand is not sufficient to keep every sorter working, especially not the category that does not have its own sales of onions and is dependent on the award of contracts from exporters (often a price issue).
This leads to working with (very) narrow margins, which is only possible if maximum rotation is possible. Ultimately, the bale price will have to be adjusted to get the margin for the sorter to an acceptable level, should field crop prices remain at the current level. That process seems to be starting slowly but surely, but it takes a lot of energy.
February is often not the strongest sales month for onion sales. However, the current sales of onions for 'Nederland BV' are not dissatisfying. The panic supply from growers seems to be drying up, causing the onion market to enter a new and exciting phase.