Grower resigned with result Flevo Onions

The result of the storage pool for yellow seed onions from Flevo Onions amounts to €9,01 per 100 kilos (at week 13), including compensation for Global Gap and excluding weighing costs. "The market had its hand on the handle all year, but the declining quality ultimately closed the door," says pool manager Remko Wilms.

Long storage is again not rewarded
The result of €9,01 is €3,46 above the previous one season. “The participants were resigned after hearing the outcome,” says Wilms. "Given the market, they are happy with the price, however, it is disappointing that long-term storage has once again not paid off."

The storage pool ran from week 48 to week 20. The average stock exchange quotation over this period is €7,13 per 100 kilos. "We deliberately sold the last Arctic onions before the price drop," says Wilms. "The tare percentage of 7,36% is excellent. We believe this is partly due to good monitoring of all parties. We can switch in time and find the right place for each party."

Quality closed the market
"From week 12 onwards the temperature rose and the quality deteriorated," says Wilms. "That devastated the market, and then the after-effects of the difficult harvest season surfaced. Quality is always leading. The market closed from week 18, partly due to the lack of quality that is suitable for distant export. The pool is divided in advance into equal volumes per period. However, within that period we can freely switch up and down. When hope arose in March, we were cautious. In April the quality started to play a role and we accelerated."

At the beginning of the period, the Arctic onions were mainly exported to Asia. Faltering quality of New Zealand onions helped demand. From March to April, more and more people switched to Eastern Europe. Wilms: "For the demand from Brazil, we did not have any onions in the pool that met the quality requirements at that time. You have to be realistic about that and not burn your fingers."

Wilms takes a realistic look at the season and the position of the grower. "Keepers are longing for a year in which storage is rewarded. The prospects seemed good, but in the end it is the quality that counts. Frustration is now giving way to resignation. Brazil could have bought the entire Netherlands empty, because the demand was there. However, our onions simply could not cope with the journey and long lead time."

Green harvesting
"The downside is that you learn something from a season like this. Onions that were harvested green were noticeably better (compared to a dead crop). That determines the quality: green harvesting pays off. This means leaving the potatoes alone and start earlier in the onions. You have more color, better resistance and, as it were, a protective layer dries on it."

As a result of the price movements, Flevo Onions has seen the number of participants increase. The free-growing long-term keepers choose to put part or all of their volume into the pool. The idea is that you will then participate throughout the season and have a better chance of winning a profitable prize.

Political tensions
Waterman tries to use the Flevo Haven in Lelystad as much as possible. As the port progresses, the volumes can also be increased (which go by ship to Rotterdam and Vlissingen). That saves costs. Wilms is resolute about the coming export season: "The demand for onions is absolutely there. Just look at the world population figures. The question is whether this is reflected in the price. World politics is under high tension, and that affects trade "The onion market is subject to quotas from African countries. Perhaps that is also necessary to keep our country under control."

Status of the crop
"The crops in the central and northern Netherlands are doing well. In the north of Drenthe, the onions have suffered from rain. However, more to the south of Drenthe, this is not a problem. In Groningen and Friesland you see that again. it is dry, but this is not causing any problems for the time being. The onion growers in Zeeland are once again faced with a challenging situation when irrigation is not possible," says Wilms.