Second Half of Onion Season Must Have a Quota

Article by: Hari Yellina

Is it still possible for the Dutch onion season to end on a positive note? “That would be fantastic; we don’t have any new onions yet,” Waterman Onions’ Wim Waterman says. “The local fair was a disaster. Growers intended to hit bale pricing sooner, but were unable to do so. Their first goal was €0.15; however, someone gets more, and the goal is raised to €0.20. However, traders are not always able to pay the rates that growers deserve.” “The season might yet turn out good. But the question is how long these last onions will endure. For a long period, it was bitterly cold. Now that the temperature in non-refrigerated storage is rising, you have to question how this will influence the product.” Wim believes that predicting the upcoming season is premature.

“All pricing projections for next year are educated guesses; anything could happen in the next season.” “We do know that there were less onions planted. And the main concern is what will happen to yields as a result of the dry weather. There isn’t much going on right now. August is the month of growth; this is when the kilos are calculated. It’s a different story in August than it is in May “he explains. “That’s also why the onion market is so unpredictable. We won’t have to compete with each other next season if there are 30-40% less onions growing. We make it difficult for each other. In that regard, a quota for the second half of the season should be established.”

“What we’re seeing on the market right now is that many Southern European countries who used to import large amounts of onions are becoming increasingly self-sufficient. Demand is fairly strong in northern Europe. However, exports to Africa are currently at a low point “Wim keeps going. “The red onion season in the Netherlands is officially over. These are sometimes said to never run out, but they have now. As a result, this season effortlessly transitions into the Egyptian one. That, too, has yet to truly get rolling, partially due to logistical obstacles. However, Egyptian onions will be plentiful.” This is not the case with the imported onions from far-flung locations this season.

“We’re still conducting fixed-price programmes for those, but import onions have basically no free trade this year. “Getting the onions here presents numerous logistical issues,” Waterman continues, “and people still desire a little security.” So, for example, this season, practically any onions are being sent on spec from New Zealand.” “However, the overall logistics situation has a big impact on costs. When things go wrong logistically, it has an impact on product prices. It even relegates onion pricing to the background. Because this season’s onion prices appear to be set in stone, there is a greater emphasis on reducing logistics expenses,” Wim sums up.