Every week we look at an important country in the onion sector. In this first edition, New Zealand is discussed, an important import country for Europe and a major competitor for the Dutch onion in Asia.
In New Zealand the seasons are opposite to the Netherlands. When we have winter, it is summer in New Zealand. At this moment the onions have just been sown. The sowing period runs from June to mid-September, after which the onions are harvested in February and March.
The high season for New Zealand onions runs from February to May, after which they are mainly exported to Asia. However, they are a lot less than during the high season.
The old export season is therefore coming to an end, while the new onions have recently been sown. What happened last season and what does the coming year look like?
Export to Europe
Many New Zealand onions are eaten in Europe in the months from April to July. Germany, France and the United Kingdom in particular import a lot of onions from New Zealand. These onions provide competition for our own European onions, which have been stored for some time at that time. Last season production in Europe was enormous. Despite this, more New Zealand onions were exported to Europe (77.150 tons).
Asia
Due to its favorable location, New Zealand is an important exporter in Asia. In Southeast Asia, Malaysia (10.200 tons), Indonesia (32.500 tons) and Japan (16.800 tons) are particularly good buyers. Malaysia is also an important sales country for the Netherlands. Last season (2016/2017), the Malaysians purchased 34.301 tons of Dutch onions, making them the fourth largest export country for Dutch onions.
Indonesia is also an important sales area, in contrast to Japan, where few Dutch onions go. Despite the increase in New Zealand onions in Europe, there is a strong focus on Asia. Dutch exporters have indicated that they face strong competition from New Zealand in Asia. Until 3 weeks ago, deliveries were even made to Indonesia.
Next season
The onions for next season have recently been sown. It was very wet in New Zealand during the sowing period. The result of this is that not all onions have been sown. It is estimated that approximately 98% were successful. The area is comparable to that of last year. There is once again a lot of production in Europe due to an expansion of the area.
Does this mean that fewer onions will go to Europe this year and that New Zealand will offer even more competition in Asia? The future will tell.
New Zealand has 4.500.000 inhabitants and is 7,8 times the size of the Netherlands (275.042 square kilometers).