Market sentiment is difficult to gauge. Demand is healthy, especially for this phase of the season, which also reflects a strong start to the season for Dutch onion exports. As things stand now, the harvest of yellow onions is expected to be good on average. It remains to be seen what kind of onion stock we can expect. In this market analysis, we will also discuss current ex-farm prices, opportunities in onion exports, seed onion prices, and the DCA bale price.
There haven't been any major changes in the onion trade this week. Processors are offering €10 per 100 kilos, but nine times out of ten, they don't have the onions for that price. The Goes and Emmeloord markets are trading at €11 to €13 per 100 kilos. Growers are offering right in between, at €12. Sorters who need onions are also readily accepting these offers. Some processors are speculating that if rain actually arrives next week, growers will be more willing to compromise to dispose of the onions before the rain arrives. For very short-term storage, until the potatoes need to be stored, prices of €14 to €15 are being mentioned.
Meanwhile, demand for sorted onions remains strong. Some exporters were still a bit worried last week that demand would drop after the ship to Senegal, but that's practically not the case. However, several exporters are noticing that customers are taking a very long time to finalize their orders. "When the order is finally confirmed, they want to load almost the same day," said one exporter. This effect is making the onion market somewhat nervous.
Supermarkets are becoming scarcer
Now that the onions are running out, it is also becoming clear that the seed onions are on average not be very rudeDemand for good white super onions is high in Southern Europe. The latest export figures from week 31 also show that countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France are demanding significantly more onions during this period than last year. The extreme weather in Southern Europe may have played a role in this.
Good, coarse onions are slowly running out. Sorters who've had them in front of the drying wall for a while are also starting to want to get rid of them. Super onions from seed are thinly sown. If demand remains high, the price of super onions might increase.
The DCA Bale price for onions remains largely stable this week. Triplets have dropped slightly. Bulk onions are currently priced between €21 and €23 this week.
Read here is the explanation from DCA Market Intelligence on the new quotations.