Growers in the Southwest are postponing the harvest of onion sets for a while. Not only so that they can grow a few more kilos, but also because the old onion stocks would otherwise get in the way. Traders confirm that.
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Due to the drought, the onion onions are expected to produce a moderate yield this year. According to traders, plots that have not been irrigated do not exceed 30 to 40 tons per hectare. That is half or two-thirds less than with a normal harvest.
Vital plots can be added
While other growing areas in the country received a downpour of rain on Wednesday, Zeeland was left out. The cultivation area may have better luck on Saturday. Vital plots that receive a shower may recover slightly, but a top harvest is not possible.
Old onion stock
The other reason to extend the harvest by about 14 days is the current market situation. We have not yet completely used up the old onion stock, which is still of good quality, and the price is at €0. Not an ideal starting situation to come up with a new product.
Waiting for kilos
If there was no connection, the cards would be different. Now growers are waiting for kilos and for the moment when the price is to their liking. The quality of the blocks of winter onion sets that were lifted last week was good, the yield was not great and not as large as in other years. Before harvesting could take place, irrigation had to take place.
Photo: Loading winter onions on June 26 in Steenbergen (Nrd-Br.) at Wim de Witte.