Confidence in the onion market has increased again among onion growers in the past week. Processors, on the other hand, lack the confidence to continue buying fanatically.
The last published export figure (week 11) is the lowest export figures of this year at 16.243 tonnes. Nevertheless, exports are still reaching the record 2020 season. Export demand is currently higher than in week 11. This concerns the well-known destinations from Africa, Great Britain and Southern Europe that have a demand for Dutch onions. In addition, there has been plenty of demand from Poland in the last two weeks.
Trade on the farm is not really taking off yet. The mood among growers is good again and they are selling out the onions for high prices. Processors do not want to go along with significant price increases for the time being, because farm prices and bale prices are not in balance. In recent weeks, many consignments have been collected by processors for which money had to be paid. As a result, there is no mood among packers to continue with higher prices.
The three regional agricultural fairs are showing a slightly increasing trend this week. All odds make a small step up. When the odds are compared, €30 to €60 is paid for the 10-12% sort and €60 to €11,50 for the 14% upward sort. There is disagreement between Middenmeer and Emmeloord about the mood in the market. In Middenmeer, the onion market is described as price-driven, with demand greater than or equal to supply. However, a day later, Emmeloord describes the onion market as quiet, with the supply being greater or equal to demand.
The difference in bale prices between medium grades and coarse onions is increasing. The medium grading is still under pressure, while the coarser sizes have increased. An overview of the bale prices can be found in the DCA listing Bale price Onions.