The corona crisis is getting a grip on packaging material for onions. At the beginning of the crisis, several onion bag factories in the Philippines, China and Bangladesh were shut down. According to insiders, a shortage is visible. The question is how big that shortage is and what consequences this has for sales. And what about jute bags for potatoes?
The producers of bags for onions and jute bags for potatoes are mainly located in Asia. As a result of the corona measures, 2 of the 3 largest factories producing mesh bags for onions were shut down at the beginning of the crisis. The delivery time for these bags is normally quite long, but delays due to the temporary shutdown of these factories have now created a small shortage of bags in some places.
According to insiders, there is no 'real shortage' on the potato market, because factories making jute bags for potatoes were able to continue operating (despite the corona measures). During the summer, it seemed for a while that hurricanes and bad weather conditions would cause shortages in Bangladesh, but in the end that did not become a reality. "The question mark surrounding a shortage of jute bags has now completely disappeared into the background," several insiders report.
No major problems for sales
The shortage of bags for onions, on the other hand, is not so great that it causes major problems in sales. This problem is less likely to affect the larger sorters who export under their own name. This is because they often have sufficient bags in stock. According to insiders, it is mainly the mesh bags without a brand that are difficult to obtain. A delivery time of several weeks is no exception.
Most sorters and exporters work with a simple solution: "If the bags we usually use for the red onions are not there, then the onions simply go into another bag." In short, there are still plenty of alternatives. A restrictive effect on exports is therefore not obvious.