The second extreme year in a row means that the supply of fruit and vegetables in Central and Eastern Europe is scarce. Prices have risen and in some cases are at record highs. This is also the case in Poland, where the average harvest of vegetable crops is 10% lower than in 2018.
"Honey, I'm at the supermarket. What should I buy? Just bring parsley. I can't afford that. Okay, bring caviar." These kinds of jokes are currently doing the rounds in Poland, because the prices of various fruits and vegetables have reached record highs. For a kilo of parsley you pay the equivalent of €4,50 per kilo. The onion price rose slightly and is now €0,73 per kilo in the store. This makes Polish onions the most expensive.
Dramatically bad harvest
The Polish statistical agency GUS expects that the total harvest of field vegetables this year will amount to 3,8 million tons. that is a decrease of 9% compared to 2018, because in that year the yield (at 4,1 million tons) was already dramatically poor. The second extremely dry year in a row is the cause of this.
GUS estimates that 520.000 tons of onions will be harvested in Poland (-7,6%), compared to 1 tons one year earlier. The statistical office does not calculate the size of the area. The carrot harvest amounts to an estimated 563.000 tons, compared to 670.000 tons in 726.000 (-2018%). Meanwhile, prices in the supermarket will rise by 8% this summer.
Suppliers to Poland
Where do the Poles get their vegetables from? The Netherlands is currently an important supplier of onions. Onions are also brought from Ukraine, as there is sufficient supply there: the harvest of sowing onions has started. However, after a small setback, prices are rising slightly again, to €0,23 per kilo. A week earlier this was still €0,21. In Russia, prices have fallen sharply: from €0,25 to €0,20 per kilo.
Even though the onion harvest is also well underway in Poland, Polish traders continue to ask for Ukrainian onions. The acreage there has been expanded and the growing conditions were good. Onions are also imported from Slovakia. Belarus is another option, but prices there are also at a high level.
Huge sales of Dutch onion sets
New export figures from KCB/GroentenFruit Huis show that Polish buyers have purchased almost 29 tons of Dutch onions up to and including week 500. Last year this was 1.250 tons and in 2017 1.680 tons in the same period. Unlike exports to Africa or South America, most tons sent to Eastern Europe are not recorded. Insiders estimate that between 150 and 200 trucks per week have been transported to Poland in recent weeks. You are then talking about a volume between 4.500 and even 6.000 tons.
Exports are currently in somewhat calmer waters. There is still a supply, because of the high hectare yields that growers have to eliminate. However, the changeable weather means that loading cannot always take place at short notice. Anyone who can deliver dry from the shed chooses a packer as buyer (who operates at the top of the market in terms of price level). The 'Polish trade' actually uses the bottom. The fact that the onion onions are coarse is a great advantage for the Polish peelers.
Low price, yet lucrative
Since the onions are often shipped gross before net (whereby the 0 millimeter and 40 millimeter, loose skins and soil tare are turned out on the hopper), it is sometimes attractive for onion growers. Partly due to very high yields, a positive balance can still be achieved. The most common price quoted by insiders remains €7 per 100 kilos.
The area of onion sets increased this season to a record of 8.900 hectares. Of these, 70% are second-year students (6.230 hectares). Coupled with the very high average yield (estimated 65 tons per hectare), you arrive at a volume of 436.000 tons. In 2018 this was 248.000 tons and in 2017 249.000 tons, with a smaller area (5.460 hectares). The average hectare yields are based on VTA figures. In 2018 this amounted to 38,9 tons per hectare and in 2017 it was 45,6 tons per hectare.
Poland keeps asking
The lower onion yield in Poland (-10%) makes traders assume that the country will set a floor in the market in the coming months and will adopt a questioning attitude; especially with the current pricing in the Netherlands. They take it for granted that buyers have to settle for a lower margin. In addition, there are still plenty of onion sets available and the first early sowing onions are also appearing, which packers and exporters prefer. Only the problem batches of seed onions go to Poland.