The sorting companies are preparing for the Christmas holidays and the stock exchange quotes remain fairly stable. Exports were good, according to export figures for week 48. The pace is now slowing down somewhat. Are there still opportunities for growers who want to do something before the turn of the year?
Africa is the most important sales market for Dutch onions in the first half of the season. But, as far as Senegal is concerned, exports to the continent are starting to come to an end. Senegal reported this week that it would include the onions shipped before New Year's Eve under the old quota. This creates some extra demand in the last weeks of the year.
Trade is keeping a low profile
This is only noticeable to a limited extent on the farm. Sorting companies try to eliminate the workload as much as possible. This is pending the direction that prices will take in the second half of the season. That doesn't mean there aren't opportunities to sell. Some of the sorters are on holiday, but the companies that continue to operate may be able to fill some gaps. If the seller likes the price (around €10) and can be delivered quickly, there are limited options. However, that does not mean that traders are going out of business. This is also evident from the quotations on the regional stock exchanges. For yellow onions, they are unanimously set at €9 to €10 per 100 kilos. The DCA bale price also remains stable at €15 to €15,50 per 100 kilos, depending on the sorting.
Now that demand from Africa is expected to slow down, the question is which countries will take over from Senegal. Great Britain has been doing well on the market all season and insiders expect that this will not change in the near future. Demand is good, especially from retail. The coronavirus could throw a spanner in the works for sales to the catering industry in the United Kingdom. But to keep the large stock - the stock inventory of VTA estimates 15% above the five-year average - destinations must be added. The price of Dutch onions is currently working in favor of growers in a country like Poland.
Different signals
An obstacle in onion exports may be the relatively large European harvest. Although the total 2021 harvest in the European Union is estimated to be approximately 10% larger, it is still unclear how many net tonnes of this will remain. VTA reports that there are large differences in tare between the lots. Percentages of 15% are no exception. We cannot extend this line one by one to the whole of Europe.
Insiders are somewhat gloomy in their expectations for the second half of the season. However, there are also positive signals, especially for later in the season. The combination of relatively low prices - which always means more onions are spilled -, a stock that is probably lower in practice and sorters and traders who are very careful about keeping stock, offer starting points for the second half of the season .
An overview of these bale prices can be found in the DCA quotation Bale price of Onions.