Inside Onions
Are there opportunities for winter onions again?
An extremely small onion harvest this summer created a gap in the market. Onion growers anticipated this with overwintering sowing and onion sets. Good returns and balances were often achieved with this. How are the cards shuffled for harvest 2020?
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Choose the subscription that suits youDespite the fact that there is not yet a complete picture of the 2019 onion harvest, the sector expects the onion stock to be sufficient for the 2019-2020 sales season. No gap is expected between the connection of the old and new harvest. This is unfavorable for winter onions.
Winter onion sets
Winter onion sets are mainly grown in the Netherlands. Exact acreage figures are not known, because Statistics Netherlands does not segment them separately. According to estimates by plant material suppliers, this concerns a maximum of 400 hectares. This area is reasonably stable and amounts to a minimum of 300 hectares per year.
The largest acreage covers the Troy variety from De Groot en Slot. This onion set is frost resistant and not sensitive to bolting. Hence the name wintering onion. Since they can also be planted in the spring, growers have this option in mind. On heavier soils, which are now too wet, it is therefore postponed to next spring. Often it is then possible to plant after a light frost.
Sub-construction
The winter onion sets have their own first segment that falls just before the onions that are planted in the spring. Usually at the end of June and the first days of July. "Processors use these onions to keep the product flow going", says Jaap Jonker of De Groot en Slot. "The onions are placed with growers in partial cultivation. We cannot therefore say with 100% certainty whether the number of growers will increase. The number of arable farmers that purchase from our planting material is stable. They represent 80% of the market."
The onion sets go into the ground between mid-October and mid-November. It is certainly not too late for that. Supplier Hazera has their own onion set variety Cupido for this segment. "We see that onion set growers are shifting their acreage," says André Boot of Hazera. "So not less onion sets, but, for example, slightly fewer overwintering onions and less spring plant."
Seed onions not requested
After years of absence, winter sowing onions were again grown last autumn. There is only very limited enthusiasm for this cultivation. Cultivation is a gamble, with demand leading the way. "The seed is more expensive than regular onion seed and you run more risk because of the risk of frost," says Hein Molenkamp of Hazera. The company sells a small amount of seed to onion growers in the east and south-east of our country.
Jonker also clearly sees less enthusiasm for winter sowing onions. This has everything to do with the market opportunities. Growers who do get started with winter sowing onions have them in the ground by now. They are strengthened by good results. This summer, hectare yields of 40 to 50 tons were achieved. At sales prices between €20 and €35 per 100 kilos, the cultivation has certainly paid off.
New and existing growers
The original Japanese seed company Takii is the market leader in winter seed onions. Last year it also sold their hybrid varieties Galathea F1 and Keepwell F1 in the Netherlands. “We also received questions for next season. There are new growers in the Netherlands and existing growers are continuing to do so," says Paul Leenheer of Takii. He estimates the area of seed onions for overwintering at a maximum of 20 hectares. This makes it an absolute niche.
“The most important thing is to have the sales side in order. The product has a very limited shelf life and buyers are only interested for a short time,” he continues. “The cultivation risk is high and you still put €2.200 per hectare of seed in the ground. On clay soil there is especially a risk of freezing out, whereby the roots are pulled loose. Our varieties are characterized by their little sensitivity to frost. This danger is especially lurking when the plant is too developed and when the nights are cold in spring. The time of sowing is very precise and is between 20 and 31 August.”
European market share
In Germany, France and Italy, but also Central and Eastern Europe, the cultivation of overwintering onions is much larger. Takii has a market share of 80% in seed onions in the first-mentioned countries, as it says itself. “All these countries consume their own crops, where the Netherlands exports 90%,” explains Leenheer. “Supermarkets ask for fresh onions from our own country. In the Netherlands, this demand is much smaller or not present at all. Hopefully this will change in the future. We would like to continue with the cultivation and try it out in the Netherlands for a number of years. Large growers and buyers are showing interest, because they like to discuss the risk on their company.”
“The cultivation has to suit you. If you do everything right, you will pay off. We also struggle with this in Eastern Europe. The hybrids are more expensive and require a lot of attention. Only then will the cultivation succeed. Fortunately this is getting better. In Poland, for example, we also see a lot of demand for so-called transplant onions that are sown in the greenhouse. Our country also has a very small area of this cultivation. Especially for red onions.”