Where are most onions grown?

In 2017, there were 4.010 Dutch arable farms growing onions. This results in an area of ​​34.912 hectares. But in which municipality do we find most of these companies? A new top 5, compiled by Statistics Netherlands, provides the answer.

In the Netherlands, the average onion area per company is 8,7 hectares. An older top 5 shows that the Noordoostpolder (Flevoland) shows the largest growth in onion acreage between 2011 and 2015. Is this church still at the top?

Where are most companies?
The municipality of Noordoostpolder is indeed at the top of the list. In 2017, 536 onion-growing companies were counted in this municipality. The total acreage amounts to 4.585 hectares. The average per farm is 8,6 hectares, which is comparable to the average in the Netherlands.

In second place is the municipality of Dronten (Flevoland). In 2017, 284 companies were counted in Dronten that grow onions. In total, this concerns an area of ​​2.883 hectares, which means 10,2 hectares per company. That average is considerably higher than the number 1 and the average in the Netherlands.

In third place is the municipality of Sluis (Zeeland). The number of onion-growing companies in this municipality is 214. In total, this concerns an acreage of 1.795 hectares, lower than at numbers 1 and 2. The average per company is 8,4 hectares.

In fourth place is the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee (South Holland). In 2017, 155 companies growing onions were registered in this municipality. The total acreage amounts to 1.547 hectares, which means an average of 10 hectares per company. 

The municipality of Terneuzen (Zeeland) ranks fifth and last in this top 5. In 2017, 148 onion-growing companies were counted in this municipality. The total onion area in this municipality is 1.480 hectares. This means that the companies in Terneuzen grow an average of 10 hectares of onions.

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Number of hectares
If we look at the top 5 municipalities with the largest onion acreage, the top 3 remains unchanged. This concerns the Noordoostpolder (4.585 hectares), Dronten (2.883 hectares) and the municipality of Sluis (1.795 hectares). As you can see, there are big differences between the 3 municipalities, with the number 1 being head and shoulders above the rest. 

In the fourth place we see a different municipality. It concerns the municipality of Zeewolde (Flevoland). In 2017, 129 companies with onion cultivation were registered in this municipality. In total, onions are grown on 1.674 hectares in this municipality, which amounts to an average of 13 hectares. In fifth place is the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee. This municipality was still in fourth place in the top 5 above.

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Number of hectares per company
If we only look at the number of hectares per company, the top 5 will be completely different. In the first place we see the municipality of Emmen (Drenthe). In 2017, 18 companies were registered in Emmen that grow onions. The total onion area is 317 hectares, which means an average of 17,6 hectares per company.

In second place is the municipality of Schagen (North Holland). In 2017, 18 companies with onion cultivation were registered in this municipality. In total this concerns 303 hectares, which means an average of 16,8 hectares per company. The municipality of Almere (Flevoland) is in third place. In 2017, 10 companies with onion cultivation were noted in this municipality. The total acreage in this municipality amounts to 151 hectares. That means an average of 15,1 hectares per farm.

The municipality of Zeewolde comes in fourth place. This municipality also came back in the top 5 above. In this municipality, the average per farm is 13 hectares. The fifth place is for the municipality of Lelystad (Flevoland). In 2017, this municipality had 129 onion-growing companies, with an area of ​​1.674 hectares. That is a lot higher than in the above 4 municipalities. The average area per farm is 12 hectares.

The number of companies with onions (2017)

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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