Compared to the past few weeks, it was a lot quieter this week on the Dutch onion market. This is also reflected in the votes cast by the exchange committees in Middenmeer and Emmeloord.
For the first time in 2022, published export figures are below 20.000 tons. The export figure for week 6 amounts to 18.498 tons. However, unlike last season, this is an excellent export figure. In week 6, 13.987 tons of onions were exported. Current exports are expected to be around this level.
It has been a lot quieter on the farm in the last week and a half. There is quite a bit of resistance to prices among packers because farm prices are not in line with bale prices. However, in recent weeks they have had to purchase the necessary additional quantities to replenish the working supplies. Now that the stock has been replenished, processors are calmer again.
While stock market prices only went up for weeks, this week all regional stock exchange committees recorded a negative difference. When the three regional stock exchange quotations are compared, €30 to €60 is paid for the 11-13% coarse sorting and €60 to €12 for the 14% coarse sorting.
Even more importantly, the stock exchange committees in Emmeloord and Middenmeer both describe the onion market as quiet. This means that demand is less than or equal to supply. The situation has been the other way around in recent weeks, when demand was greater than supply.
With the large sorting capacity in the Netherlands, it remains difficult for packers to increase bale prices. A plus will only be added for special destinations and sizes. An overview of the bale prices can be found in the DCA listing Bale price Onions.