The 2020/2021 onion season is heading for record exports, despite declining export figures in the second half of the season. The Dutch onion packers and exporters, united in the Holland Onion Association (HOA), are in any case pleased with the almost completed season.
In any case, last season will go down as a record year. The weekly export limit of 40.000 tons per week has been amply broken. Export volumes even reached 50.000 tons per week in some weeks. Barely 10 years ago, weeks with half that volume were already exceptional.
The Far East and West Africa are important export destinations for Dutch onions. These regions are experiencing large population growth and, according to HOA, require sufficient safe, healthy and affordable food, even if there is no own harvest available. About 8% of all onions grown in the world are traded on the world market. The Netherlands has a 20% share in world trade, the HOA calculates.
No record prices
The good onion exports did not result in record prices last season. In the first half of the season, the stock price hovered around €20 per 100 kilos for several weeks. In the second half, as export figures fell, prices also fell. But with prices at a low point of around €13 per 100 kilos, the past season is still well above the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 seasons.