Analysis Onions
A split is emerging in the onion market
Things are not running very smoothly in the onion trade yet. It is certainly not the case that nothing is being sold, but the buying side lacks confidence that demand will really pick up in the short term. Some growers, and especially those with good, large onions in top-notch storage, see things quite differently.
Prices for yellow onions on regional exchanges are under some pressure. The range currently runs from €14 at the upper end for 60% coarse and €10 at the lower end for 30 to 60% coarse. In itself, this is not a particularly strange movement in this somewhat sluggish market. The fact that the price for immediate delivery is taking a step back is also no surprise.
To some extent, onions with quality issues are causing a somber mood. Bald and sprouted onions are frequently seen. Decent onions are being offered at sharp prices by growers who know they need to get rid of them, and this inadvertently drags the good onions down a bit as well.
On top of that, some growers are also looking outside and at the calendar. If you are not convinced that you can store your onions well into May and a buyer comes along offering a reasonable price, but not exactly what you would want as a farmer, then it is seriously considered. The fact that it is now mid-March does not work in the grower's favor.
Top quality commands top prices.
At the other end of the spectrum are growers with good onions, whether or not in mechanical cooling, who dare to take the gamble that a gap might open up at the end of the season.
Looking strictly at the CBS yield estimate and the export figures, that does not seem logical. It depends on what you subtract for tare from the CBS figures, but numerically, we would reasonably need export weeks of well over 20.000 tonnes to break even in the coming roughly 15 weeks. However, physiologically, the onions are a few weeks ahead compared to other years. Seen in this light, it is not surprising that there will still be real demand for top-quality product in late May or June.
We saw that last year as well. For a long time, it was thought there were enough onions, but suddenly they ran out. The big difference compared to last season is the export to Poland. Quite a bit is going, but according to insiders, it has been higher in the past. The Polish industry is also critical of what they want. Coarse and peeled onions sell well provided the price is right, but they ignore finer batches.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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