Also this week, the hoped-for price stabilization in onions did not materialize. Apparently the onion market has not yet found its balance. What can we expect from the onion market in the coming week?
Last week it became clear based on the Goese onion quotation that the bottom of the onion onion quotation had not yet been reached. Then the quotation fell by an average of €1,50 per 100 kg. This week, spring onion sets were quoted between €12,50 and €15,00, a decrease of €1,75 on average. The feeling that this price level should be the bottom did not yet prevail on Monday afternoon.
Over the course of the week, weather forecasts became increasingly convincing of a heat wave. Growers hope that an accelerated round of irrigation will protect the crops from an early end, otherwise they fear a death blow. The impending heat wave created a new mood in the market. For example, a good block of seed onions from the field has again been traded for €15 per 100 kilograms. In Emmeloord, the first ex-field quotation for seed onions was born with a price range of €12,50 to €15,00 with a price-oriented atmosphere. Last year in the same week the first quotation for grown onions was €8,00 to €12,00 with a calm mood.
Rising temperature and mood
The heat that the Netherlands will be treated to at the end of this and next week will lead to an adjustment in the collection of onion onions. Insiders indicate that denuded onion sets are currently causing some problems. There are no concerns about shortages of work supplies, the supply is more than sufficient.
As temperatures rise, the mood among growers also rises. They adopt a position that you often see at high temperatures: leaning back and doing nothing for a while. Because there is little to do in terms of trade, especially in the longer term, trade is not rough because of that attitude. However, growers in particular seem to want to continue working with onion sets and, if necessary, offer onion sets below the Goes price range. Sorters also suffer the same fate and continue to work where possible in order to get rid of onions, even if they have to worry about financial blisters because purchasing and sales do not match each other. The most difficult item is the coarse grades, for which there are currently too few sales.
Export to Senegal
There is still no green light from it Senegal regarding the opening of the border for onions. For several exporters, this is a reason to be less active compared to colleagues who are more risk-seeking in that area. Several shipments will sail to Dakar early next week and are expected to arrive there around August 21. When securing containers, agreements have already been made for a number of days' grace (demurrage) in case the Senegalese border for onions is not yet open. For the Netherlands, the sale of onions to Africa is new under a corona star. It is difficult to indicate what this means for total exports.
Several exporters still have money in transit from previous deliveries of onions to African buyers. This in itself is not an abnormal phenomenon, but due to corona, exporters have had less opportunity to collect this. Due to the corona crisis, African countries are having a hard time financially. This brings an extra dimension to how far you as an exporter would like to go in supplying onions. In a healthy market situation, African onion traders pre-finance approximately 1 week, but this now increases to between 2 and 4 weeks in certain cases. Continuing to supply therefore does not reduce risk. Some reluctance among Dutch exporters is therefore understandable.
An overview of the bale prices can be found in the DCA listing Bale price Onions.