The Dutch onion market is currently experiencing a lot of headwinds. You can hardly notice anything more about a fresh new start than only the product with which one works. Despite the record export in week 32 of more than 34.000 tons, the faces are gloomy and there is little confidence in the market, let alone hope for recovery.
Among the growers who made the offer, there were a striking number of those who belonged to the long-term keeper category. With the end of the old harvest, they seem to see only one way out and that is to make an offer. Enough onions can be purchased for €1 from the field, making the market increasingly difficult to operate.
Onion market in a dip
The Dutch onion market is in a temporary dip at the end of week 35, because many onions have been shipped in the previous weeks. Because not only was week 32 an export record in its entirety for Nederland BV, there was also a record sales of onions in 1 week to final destination Senegal of more than 15.000 tons. During this period (August 31 to September 4) Muslims celebrate Tabaski (sacrifice festival), to which, among other things, the export record is due.
The downside, for such a quantity of onions to 1 destination, is that the internal market has work to accommodate all supplies. This causes a run-and-stand effect on the market in the Netherlands, which in turn has consequences for the stability of onion pricing. This week we see the mood at the regional stock exchanges falling back to 'bland'.
Fighting for orders
In the now calm onion market, sorters are again 'fighting' for orders, increasing pressure on bale prices. As a result, trading margins shrink. The need for more sales channels than dominant Africa is therefore increasing. The concerns surrounding the fine sorting have largely disappeared, which gives relief to sorting companies.
It is striking that the current sorting work is unevenly distributed. One company seems to stand out because 1 hours in 24 day is not enough. While colleagues have hardly managed to get any work done. This image can be traced back to the purchasing channel, where most buyers/commissioners are left twiddling their thumbs.
Weather has an influence
The rain, which fell mainly along the coastal region, temporarily halted onion harvesting. It was hoped that this would have a positive effect on onion prices, but not much has been noticed this week. The weather forecast for the coming week seems to be favorable, so that the harvest can continue. This gives the onion season an early appearance.