The weather forecast dictates the onion market

At the end of last week, the harvest of winter onion onions in the Netherlands started. Irrigation is necessary on clay soil to be able to harvest the crop without damage. In many parts of Zeeland, water has to be delivered by truck. In the southwest of the country, the onion crops are still in reasonably good shape. They are deep-rooted and can withstand current temperatures of 30 degrees and above.

Do not write off the onion harvest
It is too premature to write off the onion harvest now or to be predominantly negative. That is the opinion of insiders. It's a different story for the early onion onions, which are harvested before July 15. There, the rainfall deficit is clearly reflected in the crops. You remove every structure spot from the crop. This mainly concerns the early varieties Jagro, Jetset and Alpha. Later varieties, such as Sturon, Setton and Corrado, are holding their own.

Rain or not?
Everything falls or stands with the rain that will or will not fall. Rain is forecast from next week, but only in relatively small amounts. A precipitation sum of 20 millimeters will already help many crops. However, some are skeptical that this will drop at all.

An additional advantage is that the temperature drops from 30 to 20 degrees. This is especially beneficial for potato crops. An onion can withstand more and can withstand the current tropical temperatures, but you can see the onion foliage shrinking. Due to the dry spring, the stand is thin in many places and the foliage is small. This means that the onion sets have a small buffer. More thrips are being identified by cultivation advisors. These can also significantly reduce yields.

Sowing onions in jeopardy
If the precipitation is disappointing and it remains dry in early July, the situation will change. That is thought. Especially in areas where irrigation is not possible, and in Zeeland, not only the onion harvest, but also the main harvest of seed onions is jeopardized. The result is a significant loss of yield. However, insiders are cautious. Everything depends on rain. There is nothing to say about this at the moment.

Stock of old harvest varies
It is difficult to say how many old onions are still in storage. There are varying stories from the south-west of the country. One person talks about a sporadic party, the other knows about a dozen. With the current high temperatures, the quality of the remaining batches is rapidly deteriorating. The advantage for seed onions remains that the price of old onions is at a completely different level than that of onion onions. A large portion of the onion sets already have an owner in advance. The trend of participation contracts or advance agreements has been continuing for years.

Confusion of speech
The trade has difficulty getting crops out of growers. You can speak of a confusion of tongues. The grower sees low yields and a very meager end to the old season. A high price is demanded for the new onion harvest. However, traders are not looking for a huge price difference. This can cause a shock reaction among buyers.

Insiders report that business has been done in Zeeland for 5.500 to 8.000 euros per hectare. Whether you can irrigate or not, that makes the price difference. With a yield of 40 tons you are talking about a maximum of 20 cents, a significant difference with the current old harvest. This can negatively affect the marketing season of the onion sets. However, it remains to be seen how the market will react to the new price level.

Onion sets harvested
In the meantime, the first plots of winter onion sets are being harvested in Zeeland and North Brabant, as well as a block of second-year onion sets. After three irrigations the yield is average to slightly above average. Before harvesting, the crop must be wet again. A few growers mention the quality of the starting material as a contributory factor to a low yield. Test digging shows that some of the onions have not or hardly developed.