Onion prices in Poland's domestic market are considerably lower than a year earlier. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the average price of onions for consumption in early October dropped to 0.47 złoty/kg (0.11 Euro), compared to 0.59 zł/kg (0.14 Euro) on average in September, and was nearly 50 percent lower than in the corresponding month of 2015, stated Mariusz Dziwulski, analyst at BGZ BNP Paribas bank.

 

"The reason for the price decline is primarily the greater supply of onions in the domestic market. According to the Central Statistical Office, this year's onion production in Poland is expected to reach 560 thousand tonnes, which means that it will be 15 percent higher than in the previous year. The situation, he adds, is similar in other countries, such as Spain, Germany or the Netherlands.

 

He explains that the price of onions in the European Union is strongly influenced by demand factors. "In the 2015/2016 season, prices were boosted by high demand in third markets, particularly in the Brazilian market. According to Eurostat data, total onion exports from the EU-28 (CN 070310) to third countries in 2015 amounted to 965 thousand tonnes and were about 20 percent higher than in 2014. Of this volume, Brazil alone received 185 thousand tonnes, more than 7 times more than in 2014," explains Dziwulski.

 

In 2016, there was a clear weakening of demand for onions in the EU, which adversely affected the price. Exports in the first six months of this year decreased by 14 percent; this was caused by, among other reasons, the weaker sales to Brazil, due to the expected increase in that country's onion harvest.

 

"Since the beginning of 2016, exports to Brazil have showed a clear downward trend. In the second quarter of 2016, they amounted to just over 11 thousand tonnes and were about 80 percent lower than in the same period last year. There was also lower demand from Ivory Coast (exports fell by 63 percent in the first half of 2016)," concluded the analyst.

 

 

Source: sadyogrody.pl