Enough is happening on the onion market, but it is difficult to discover a line in it. It just depends on who you speak to and, just as important, what his interests are. It's not overly busy in the trade, that's the common denominator, but everyone else has their own ideas about what's going on, how to interpret that and which way the market is going.
The fact that the farm is not really busy in trade is evident from the regional fairs. Middenmeer has called it a day for this season, leaving only Emmeloord. Various sorters currently have a fairly expensive inventory of work that they try to get rid of as much as possible without any damage. However, that only works to a limited extent. A working inventory that has currently cost more than the yield of the onions sorted in the bale is certainly no exception among sorters. The group that has no or very small positions does not really want to build up a stock anymore. We are heading towards the end of April and quality is becoming an increasing risk and the supply of good onions from abroad is only increasing. If you still need something, it's better to buy something more at that time, some sorters argue.
Problems with quality do create some compelling supply on the market. These quickly find their way to Poland at prices (approximately €50) that would make a grower jump for joy in other years. Now it only feels bad when you see the €100 passing by. And that supply is not entirely without consequences for the onion market. Some tricks are used to make some extra margin on such parties. What is left is often not top quality, but it is something that can be sold, provided the price is right. According to some sorters, this does not help the reputation of Dutch onions as a quality product and thus hampers sales across the board.
High prices are the best remedy for high prices
There is also a lot of talk about the onions that are imported from outside Europe. The relatively high prices attract the interest of suppliers who normally send little or no onions to our region. Various sorters maintained for a long time that they were hardly bothered by this because the European market is very tight and we would sooner run out of onions than have any left over. However, you rarely hear that reasoning anymore. Now you hear various sorters who are trying to finish the current season as much as possible with the current stock.
In that respect, the sting may still be in the tail end of the onion season. The MH has not worked equally well everywhere, but due to the relatively cool spring it has not caused any major problems so far. If temperatures really rise again and serious volume falls, the market could make a crazy jump upwards. A step down is certainly not excluded. Suppose demand drops again a bit (say below 10.000 tons) - which happens more often towards the end of the season - there could be a number of sorters who get scared and start pushing. Growers, traders, sorters and speculators tend to reason mainly in the direction of their own interests.
De DCA quotation Bale price of Onions not making any strange jumps this week. In general, sales of mediums and triplets are more difficult and the demand is mainly for coarse and supers. The average bale price remains largely the same as last week with still a very wide range.