The growers see it in the onions and there is also optimism from the trade. The grower prices are at a very decent level and it seems that the bale prices can also make a step.
The onion sets went well for most growers as well as for traders and sorters. There is hardly a cross word about the early sowing onions either. A point of concern is the relationship between the grower's price and the price for sorted and packaged product. Prices on the regional exchanges have taken the lead this season, followed by bale prices. This has been successful so far and this has increased confidence in the market in the trade. If we play it right, we as the Dutch onion sector can all really earn something from the onions this year, that is the opinion of various players on the market.
Empty market
The main harvest of the onions is getting underway and with it the train from harvesting to export is also gaining steam. Until now, sorters were occasionally short on workload. This is expected to change in the coming weeks with the start of the harvest. This can sometimes lead to a dip in grower prices. In any case, insiders do not expect this in the coming weeks.
The start of the season was early and a lot of onions have already been processed. The market is therefore clean. During the growing season it could have rained a little more, but stable dry weather is favorable for the harvest, provided it is not so extremely hot. That makes growers and sorters much less rushed compared to a year in which it all has to pass between showers.
In recent years it has been seen that growers are increasingly drying onions themselves and storing them for a short time in a potato cell before the potatoes go there. In a rising market, it is then tempting for the grower to wait as long as possible before selling, even if the onions have to be gone, for the potatoes that will also be harvested early, as it looks like now.
De DCA listing bale price onions does not do strange jumps, but maintains the steady upward trend. The listing still gives a somewhat distorted picture of what is happening on the market. The bottom of the quotation is stable, but mainly concerns the onion sets. Buyers are currently prepared to pay a plus for seed onions. On average, for all grades mixed together, you arrive at a bale price for the seed onions of approximately €34 to €35 per 100 kilos.