Because the old onion harvest ended expensively, there is a firm price floor under the plant onion market this season. Demand also started quite early this year compared to previous years. What was striking about this was that it mainly concerned the earlier plant onion varieties.
With summer approaching, speculations about pricing for the new harvest are starting to bubble up again. With an early spring behind us, the crops are growing well. Especially now that there has been some significant rainfall throughout the country recently. There was a lot of demand for the onion plant market until the rain, it is striking that this mainly concerned the early onion plant varieties, so harvesting until 15 July.
Solid foundation under onion market
The market is clearly benefiting from the high prices for the old harvest. The last storage onions are currently still being traded for prices above €50 per 100 kilos, which creates a solid base for the market. An additional advantage is that almost all buyers have already purchased their planting onions early and at high prices. As a result, hardly anyone has an interest in a decline in the market. Traders notice that there is rarely a counterbid when fully grown planting onions are offered for around €20 per 100 kilos.
Insiders indicate that below that level, hardly any supply is released, which keeps the mood going. Imported onions are also still coming in, but this is also quickly disappearing, according to insiders. Mainly onions from Egypt and New Zealand fill the gap, but these parties are quickly finding sales. For the new harvest, the first winter onion contracts have been concluded between €35 and €40 per 100 kilos. Early plant onions are currently traded between €30 and €35 per 100 kilos.
The brisk demand for plant onions is being fuelled this year by a tight supply of early planting material. Many growers have been forced to switch to later varieties or are still opting for seed onions. Due to the reduced availability of early varieties, the mood in the market is that growers are holding on to those batches. Sales are only made if agreements are made for later delivery.
Due to the recent rainfall, prices are now taking a break, insiders indicate. The shortage of early varieties is not something that comes out of the blue. The first-year planting onions were struggling with problems last year, in the autumn the planting material was expensive and poorly available, sometimes with low yields and high failure rates. As a result, there was ultimately less supply of second-year planting onions. Exports were also slow, because the price level was too high. What was left was partly processed and put on the market; sometimes for prices below the cost price. Some growers decided to plant the planting material in a 'corner', in the hope that more could be obtained from it later.
Limited plant stock puts pressure on first-year onions
For the 2025 harvest year, the area of planting onions is estimated at around 3.000 hectares, according to the market. That is a decrease of approximately 5% compared to last year. The area of first-year planting onions remains stable at approximately 2.000 hectares. However, traders are reporting that the available planting material is less abundant than hoped, partly because the availability and quality left much to be desired last year. The area of second-year planting onions is slightly lower than last season, with a decrease of approximately 2 to 3%. This decrease is mainly in the earlier varieties. This is already noticeable: there are fewer early plots available, which means that the supply at the start of the season will be tight.