The provisional export figures of Dutch onions in week 3 of 2021 are known. What can we deduce from this when it comes to recovering the demand for Dutch onions?
This week, the first results of the export of onions in the third week of 2021 were announced. As may be assumed, these are provisional figures. These will be supplemented later as information becomes available later. The final export result may therefore be even higher. For example, export figures were increased by 3 tonnes in the weeks leading up to week 557.
Export counter
In week 3, the export counter provisionally stands at 16.229 tons. Together with the information provided above, the export result for the 2020-2021 season increases to 857.878 tons, which corresponds to an average export figure of 28.595 tons per week.
The result of week 3 is therefore in line with that of week 2, which increased to 16.370 tonnes due to subsequent information. Mali is at the top as the largest customer with a purchase of 1.624 tons. This African country is good for the import of 37.914 tons of Dutch onions this season. On the other side of the Channel we find customer number 2 in terms of volume: Great Britain. The British stocked up on more than 1.424 tons of onions. With a total seasonal purchase of 58.491 tonnes, Great Britain is 7.856 tonnes ahead of last season.
Transition from import to own harvest
Places 3 to 5 also include African customers, namely Mauritania, Senegal and Guinea. The countries mentioned accounted for the imports of 1.379 tonnes, 1.331 tonnes and 1.277 tonnes respectively. Senegal is the most notable among the largest buyers, because this country has actually closed its borders to foreign onions to protect the marketing of home-grown onions. There is some additional delivery every year to ensure that the transition from import to our own harvest runs as smoothly as possible.
The export figures for weeks 2 and 3 are in the shadow of the export boom before the turn of the year. Yet a label 'bad' does not do justice to the situation. While in previous years Senegal only closes its borders in week 3 or 4, this season this will happen a week earlier. Naturally, the weekly export volume will fall earlier, but logically demand and export can pick up sooner. Anyone who looks at the developments in onion prices will already see signs of this.