The onion market is in a transition phase. The 2021 harvest has not yet been fully processed, while the 2022 harvest is just around the corner. In addition, various sorters are trying to use this somewhat quieter period for maintenance.
The fact that this is a quiet period in the onion trade is reflected in the stock exchanges. Goes and Middenmeer have stopped listing the old harvest and it is still too early for the new harvest. Only Emmeloord came up with a prize this week. The bottom of the quotation for both coarse and fine onions is €10 per kilo. At the top of the quotation, a distinction is made with €12 for the fine and €13 for the coarse.
Prices for good onions from the old harvest are under pressure. Everyone in the chain knows that there are not many opportunities to say goodbye to those onions. When a buyer comes along, the selling party - whether the grower or the sorter - quickly agrees. The same applies to the winter onion sets that are already on the market as to the last good onions of the old harvest. The time window for trading is short. Several growers took advantage of the vote a few weeks ago to do regular business, often at a decent hectare price.
wait
However, there is currently little trade in winter onion sets. Growers are a bit cautious and want to have a few more kilos first and the sorting companies are still waiting to see which way the market will move. The demand for onions from the new harvest is not disappointing. Of course, there is a large gap between the price of old and new harvest, which is almost inevitable. "But the difference is manageable for our customers," said a sorter.
Statistics Netherlands released the area figures last Thursday and according to the provisional data, the onion area will shrink by 7,9% to a total of 36.515 hectares. The largest decrease is in sowing onions. According to the estimate, that area amounts to 27.318 hectares, a decrease of 9,3%. The general mood in the trade is that these figures do not say much about the development of the onion market. "We have to rely on exports," is a frequently heard comment.
Sorters are currently processing both old and new onions and in both cases this does not involve large quantities. The DCA bale price quote this week is based on onions from the 2021 harvest. Prices of the finer sizes are under some pressure. The price for 80 op has remained the same. The bale prices quoted for the new harvest vary considerably. A rough indication is somewhere between €30 and €40 per 100 kilos in the bale. An overview of the bale prices can be found in the DCA listing bale price onions.