The upward trend in bale prices for yellow seed onions has been halted for the time being. There is still a slight increase in DCA bale prices this week, but this is mainly due to a slight rise in prices at the beginning of the week.
Sales are starting to slow down a bit. Large volumes are still crossing the border, but the flow of onions is a bit slower than in recent weeks. It's easy to get used to seeing huge quantities of onions crossing the border each week, but every now and then, exports hit a wall. And that's currently the case. It certainly doesn't mean a knockout, but the atmosphere has changed somewhat.
The unprecedented pace of recent weeks fueled the belief that Dutch onion exports would boom just before Christmas this year. That would quickly push bale prices for the average size above 25p per kilo. The market has proven more resilient.
Slightly declining market price
A buoyant mood actually caused the bale price of medium to rise towards 26 cents per kilo at the beginning of the week. Some transactions were made on this basis. There was some more trading at a level of 25,75 cents. As the week progressed, these prices proved unattainable. An oversupplied market in West Africa tempered the optimism and caused bale prices to drop. By the end of the week, the bulk was trading for 24 to 24,5 cents per kilo.
This is expected to remain the case over the course of next week. First, inventories in West Africa need to be somewhat depleted before the flow of goods can resume at full speed. With Christmas just around the corner, exporters expect there to be only a brief reset. After that, the pace will pick up again.
How long the export pace to West Africa will remain high remains a question mark. Exporters and packers point to the fact that the Senegalese border officially closes to imported onions on January 1st. This has been the case in previous years, but some exporters now believe it's more likely that the new head of the market office will stick to that. On the other hand, Ramadan falls early this year, from mid-February to mid-March. This could mean that Senegal will continue to rely on imported onions for a longer period, as its own harvest in February and March isn't yet sufficient to meet high demand.
Afland pools PPA
Meanwhile, PPA has announced the pool results for yellow and red seed onions from the 2025 harvest, delivered ex-field. The average price for yellow onions has been set at €11,15 per 100 kilos. For red onions, the pool price is €14 per 100 kilos, based on an average of 70% large onions. Yields were higher than in previous years. The ample supply and a declining market sentiment depressed pricing.
Read Here the explanation from DCA Market Intelligence on the new quotations.