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Harvest seed onions more than 17% lower than in 2021
More than 17% fewer seed onions were harvested this year than in 2021. This is apparent from the preliminary crop harvest estimate for arable farming by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). This is due to a smaller acreage, but also a hectare yield that is considerably lower than in other years.
Statistics Netherlands estimates the harvest of seed onions at 1,2 million tons of onions. That is more than 300.000 tons lower than in 2021 when 1,5 million tons of onions were harvested. However, the provisional gross yield is still higher than the drought year 2018. When the yield was only 0,9 million tons of seed onions. In recent years, the yield of seed onions has fluctuated around 1,4 million tons. Compared to 2021, the gross yield for the onion harvest is 17,4% lower.
Smaller area
Given the dry and warm season and the shrinking acreage, it is not unexpected that significantly fewer seed onions were harvested compared to other years. In 2021, a record number of hectares of onions were sown with 30.100 hectares. This year it was 2.700 lower and the acreage amounted to 27.400 hectares, a decrease of 9% compared to 2021. This means that the hectares are almost the same as in 2020. For the first time this year, the differences in red and yellow onions have also been included. This year, for example, 22.500 hectares of yellow onions and 4.900 hectares of red onions were sown.
Average 44,2 per hectare
According to the preliminary harvest estimate of 1,2 million tons of onions, the harvest consists of 1 million tons of yellow onions and 210.000 tons of red onions. After last year's capricious growing season, it was inevitable that the kilos on the land were disappointing. The average yield per hectare is 44,2 tons per hectare, compared to 49,1 tons per hectare in 2021. In 2018, the yield of seed onions was many times lower, with an average yield of 35,5 tons per hectare. There is also a difference in yield between yellow and red seed onions. Yellow averages 44,5 tons and red a little lower at 42,9 tons per hectare.
It is expected that 283.000 tons of second-year onion sets have been harvested this year on an area of 5.800 hectares. This area has also shrunk compared to last season. The yield is 48,9 tons per hectare. In 2021, an average of 56,2 tons of one hectare was harvested. The gross yield that year was 350.000 tons of onions.
Major differences per region
The expected national hectare yields can differ strongly regionally. Also within the regions, the differences between parcels can be very large, reports Statistics Netherlands. This is due to the course of this special season, from crust formation at the start to whether or not the plots can be irrigated. The gross yield figures from Statistics Netherlands include everything that has already been harvested or that is expected to be harvested. Compared to other years, the harvest went smoothly and almost all onions have been harvested from the country.
Jesse Torringa
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