After the acreage of seed onions increased by 11% (CBS) last year, this will be reduced in 2022. That is the expectation of various onion seed suppliers. Less seed has been sold to date and that is largely due to cultivation, which is more challenging than ever. Red onion seed, on the other hand, is almost sold out.
With last year's very difficult growing season still fresh in our minds and a sales price that leaves much to be desired, last year's national expansion is returning to its previous level. This is what onion specialist André Boot expects from Hazera. "The availability of crop protection products poses a greater challenge in cultivation. Rising costs also play a role and onion growers who are in doubt prefer the stable cultivation of wheat."
Area yellow yields
It is again the southern provinces where the area is decreasing according to Boot. Zeeland seems to take the cake in terms of the largest decrease in acreage, especially when it comes to yellow onions. On the other hand, Hazera's total market share will expand for the coming season. In the north the company sees a small expansion of the area.
Jaap Jonker, Benelux Sales Manager at De Groot en Slot, also expects that fewer yellow onions will be planted. He also sees a decrease in the acreage in the south, but fewer sales have also been made in North Holland. "Sales of yellow seed are lagging behind by a few percent. Prices were down and people thought there was too much stock. This is causing some growers to have doubts." The expectation is that the area on the sand will remain the same. Jonker sees an expansion of the area in Friesland and Groningen.
Red almost sold out, area remains the same
Even before the harvest was completely finished, it became clear that the demand for red onion seed would be high for next season. The lower yield of red versus yellow onions simply cannot match the price difference in recent years. Certain varieties sold out early, such as the Red Tide variety in November.
According to Jonker, the area of red seed onions will remain approximately the same for next year due to disappointing production: "We would have liked to produce more seed, but production was very disappointing due to downy mildew. As a result, there is hardly any room to grow in the area next season." ."
Primed seed trend continues
This season, primed onion seed is again very popular and seems to have not yet reached its ceiling. With faster growth and a more uniform emergence, primed seed once again proved itself well last season. At De Groot en Slot, the percentage of primed onion seed increased to 35% of the total and is almost sold out. Last season that was still below 30% according to Jonker. At De Groot en Slot, 70% of the red onion seed has now been primed.