Brazilian onion growers are struggling to get the onions off the land due to persistent rainfall. There is also local hail damage. However, previously harvested product does come onto the market, which puts prices under pressure.
The onion growing areas in Brazil experienced a fair amount of rain in week 43, which amounted to 35 millimeters. The harvest was forced to stop as a result. Especially in the Brazilian state of Bahia, in the north of the country. That reports Cebolicultura Brasil.
Prices under pressure
Previously harvested product could be marketed by growers, so the supply to the market has not stopped. Grower prices ex field amount to an average of 84 real per 100 kilos. That converts to about €18,50. That is a decrease of almost 20% compared to the previous week due to hot larger supply.
After the rain, growers are expected to speed up the onion harvest to get their product off the land and avoid quality problems. This brings more onions onto the market, which puts further pressure on prices. Due to a combination of moisture and high temperatures, the quality deteriorates rapidly.
hail damage
In the state of Minas Gerais, rainfall is already causing problems with product quality. The price of good quality yellow onions is €30 per 100 kilos of packaged product. Growers in the state of Santa Catarina have to contend with stormy weather and hail, which locally causes significant damage to the product.
Onion exports from the Netherlands to the South American country are going well this year. Up to and including week 40, almost 35.000 tons of onions from the 2019 harvest have been shipped to Brazil. A year earlier, that counter stood at 0 tons and just under 2017 tons of the 40 harvest had been exported in week 1.000. However, the volume has fallen considerably in the last 3 weeks.
Export volume decreases
With a total volume of 34.916 tons, the country comes in 3rd place on the export list, after Senegal and Ivory Coast. The largest quantity was exported this season in week 37. This amounted to 6.600 tons in 1 week. Brazil's requirements are strict. It requires large onions of very good quality. Now that more and more of our own onion harvest is coming onto the market, demand from the country has disappeared. In week 40, 288 tons went that way.