Many growers are busier with the onions for the upcoming harvest, although irrigating is proving difficult this week due to the wind. Meanwhile, there are still onions in storage. Opinions vary considerably regarding what we can expect in terms of price. What most do agree on, however, is that quality is the deciding factor.
It is May, and both growers and sorters know that the season for onions from the 2025 harvest will not last much longer. There are still quite a few onions in storage. The big question, however, is how many good ones are left and, at least as importantly, how long they will remain good. That is where the tension lies.
| Weekly transaction overview |
|
It is not very busy in the onion trade this week. The Holland Onion Association has a limited number of transactions ranging from €10 to €17. The DCA Transaction app had 14 transactions of yellow seed onions this week ranging from €12 to €18. There were also two transactions of red onions, one for €13,75 and one for delivery from crate storage before June 16: €15,00 base price => up to €17,00 average market price is 100% for the seller, >€17,00 is 50/50% participation. |
The price range is and remains very wide, from €0 to €18. Growers naturally look primarily at the top end of the market. However, that is by no means within reach for every batch. Very good, large, and often from mechanical cooling, with delivery throughout the entire month of May. According to some insiders, there is still a catch regarding these top prices. In three or four weeks, the onions could still deteriorate quite a bit, and rejection due to quality issues for onions intended for the slightly longer term is a real possibility. That would not be the first time this season.
The lower end of the regional markets is around €10, but in practice, onions are loaded for less and simply bagged by Dutch sorters. €5 or €6 is also a factor for onions on the edge of class 2. If there is really something wrong with the onions, it is difficult to get rid of them. Demand was not very high to begin with, and the fact that a large part of Europe is at a standstill today due to May 1st does not help matters.
There remains a group of growers who maintain confidence. Some are betting on a repeat of last season, when the onions also suddenly ran out. If you have a storage cell where a yellow tip is already appearing, that is certainly a very big gamble, especially in open-air storage. For growers with good onions that meet the requirements for the supermarket, stored in mechanical refrigeration, there is something to be said for holding onto them for a little longer. It is somewhat of a do-or-die situation, but if a window opens up in late May or the first half of June, contrary to trade expectations, the onion market could naturally take some unexpected turns.