Quiet Onion Market - Calm before the storm

After a sudden price increase this month, it has now become quiet in the onion market. "Prices have also dropped slightly to 18-20 cents per unit for the large and 15-17 cents for the medium," says Richard Bolle, of Together Strong. "We can consequently only offer the grower 15 cents, but nobody is willing to part with their produce for that price."

The commission cannot blame the growers. "I advise them to wait, as it makes no sense to sell the onions under the current market conditions. The 'retainers' are likely to have quality produce and expect at least 20 cents. There is little stock and when supply comes, trading will just go back to normal. Even red onions are in scarce supply. There are still some in mechanical cooling and prices are good."

"Exports to Brazil have been considerably smaller and they are probably waiting for prices here to drop, but no one had counted on Brazil purchasing that much in any case. Bigger hopes had been placed on Africa, but this market remains small," states Richard. "The quality of the onions is still good. They are starting to deteriorate a little, but that is normal for this time of year."

"I expect that the market will stabilise and will become better by Pentecost," concludes Richard. "The season will last until mid-June and then some time will pass before the start of the new campaign, as they currently don't grow as fast."

For more information:
Richard Bolle
Comissiehandel Samen Sterk
richardbolle@solcon.nl
0653-317 671