The heavy rain of the past week is causing unrest among farmers. Because of the wetness they could do little or nothing on the land. The positive side of it is that prices are going up, but will they stay that way once the weather improves?
The mood on the onion market is definitely improving. At the beginning of the week, the prices of storage onions were around €8,50 per 100 kilos, but by the end of the week these prices had already risen to €10,50 per 100 kilos.
The stock exchange quotation for large onions increased in both Emmeloord and Middenmeer. In Emmeloord from €6 to €7,50 to €6 to €8. A quarter was also added in Middenmeer, which put the position in week 37 at €6 to €7. Both stock exchanges are supportive of prices.
Lack of coarse
There is a shortage of large onions this year. In addition, coarse batches are in high demand for export. Beautiful lots with a high proportion of coarse ones are therefore better rewarded. Prices from €10 to €10,50 are no exception.
Some traders expect prices to drop again when the weather improves. However, flooding is not the only factor pushing the market up. First is the export not wrong at all. A lot is exported; all export companies are busy.
Varying Yields
A second reason for the plus is the varying returns. These are low in the south-west of the country, and there are still many onions in the swath, while in the north of the country high gross yields are achieved. Trial harvests there often amount to 90 to 100 tons gross, net approximately 75 tons. The quality of the onions in the field is excellent. However, many red onion onions have been rejected because of acid.
Despite the better market mood, there is still a lot of uncertainty. It may soon be difficult to get the onions in between all the rain showers. The advantage of this is that there is no surplus of onions from the field. At some point, the trade will have to buy again to fill their export orders and build up strategic stocks.