Onion exporters will not be able to rely on volume at the tail end of the 2024/25 season. After a small recovery in week 23, significantly fewer onions were exported in week 24.
In week 24, 5.139 tons of onions were exported, according to figures from KCB/GroentenFruit Huis. The five-year average for this week is 9.268 tons and last year this week 9.134 tons crossed the border. With regard to the export figures, we must make the side note that Pentecost fell in week 24 this year. A total of 1.197.075 tons of onions were exported this season. This makes this season the second best season ever in terms of volume. The lead over harvest year 2020 is almost 14.000 tons. That seems a lot, but in the last weeks of 2020, exports were much faster than they are now. So it will be a close call whether harvest year 2024 will maintain its lead.
Broken down by destination, it is striking that only one country has purchased more than 1.000 tonnes in week 24. That was Great Britain with 1.138 tonnes. France and Ivory Coast follow quite a distance behind with 632 and 406 tonnes respectively. In total, 47 countries were on the market for Dutch onions. Gibraltar is the last with an import of 3 kilos.