Dutch onion exports have exceeded 40.000 tons in two out of three weeks since the end of August. This is evident from preliminary figures compiled by the KCB and the GroentenFruit Huis up to and including week 46. This means that weekly exports of more than 40.000 tons are currently the rule rather than the exception.
All things considered, onion exports are going remarkably well this season. Weeks of over 40.000 tons were quite unusual until this season. It's now becoming commonplace. Of the sixteen times the Netherlands exceeded this threshold with weekly exports, eight were this season. And those happened in weeks 35 to 46, so from late August to mid-November.
Exports and packers report that it's been quiet on the export front for several weeks now. This makes it all the more remarkable that so many onions are being shipped. However, according to sellers, the last two weeks have been quieter than before because the markets in West Africa are oversupplied.
Purchasing more calmly
The latter is immediately reflected in farm-gate purchasing. Sorters and packers say they have their stocks well-stocked enough to be able to sell until Christmas. Therefore, they're not participating in the purchasing market much at the moment. Farmers who still want to do some business before the holidays are therefore having to settle for slightly lower prices. So, some additional purchases are still being made here and there, but at slightly lower prices.
The sluggish sales to West Africa will come as no surprise, given the latest export figures. The recently released data shows that nearly 18.000 tons of onions were shipped to Senegal in week 46. And the week before, almost 12.000 tons. These are enormous quantities, even for this West African country. It's no wonder the market there has become temporarily oversupplied.
Ivory Coast had already hit the brakes earlier. We saw volumes decline there in weeks 45 and 46. In week 46, exports were only slightly more than half of the more than 9.100 tons destined for this country two weeks earlier.
Record after one week
According to preliminary figures, exports in the second week of November totaled 44.211 tons. This is the second-largest amount the Netherlands has ever exported. Only last year, just before Christmas, there was a week in which exports increased by 1.000 tons, to 45.283 tons.
This season's exports stand at 655.000 tons as of mid-November. This is 112.000 tons higher than a year ago. There's also a significant lead compared to the best years of 2020, 2021, and 2022. In those years, approximately 580.000 to 585.000 tons were exported up to mid-November. The lead compared to those years is 70.000 to 75.000 tons, which is also a substantial amount.