The onion market is still fraught with uncertainties. "Given the latest export figures, we are now 1,000 tonnes ahead of last year. But if you see what we were behind then compared to the years before, given the competitive price level we certainly don't have mega exports," observes Eric Moerdijk of grading and packing station Monie uit Nieuwdorp. "Fortunately, onion exports are quite broad, but at this price level we should actually have weeks in a row of 35-40,000 tonnes, and apart from an outlier in week 37, I don't expect much from these export weeks so far."
"At the same time, the onion price is slightly under pressure. A few weeks back, there was more long-term ordering, but you miss that bit of confidence in the market now. And in a falling market, you more often see that everyone is waiting and waiting. Everyone is just doubtful," Eric continues. "If the stories are to be believed, Senegal is also pretty oversupplied. Another boat is scheduled for next week. That is nice for the export figures, but the question is whether we are going to have any long-term convenience from it."
"The price of the red onions is a bit firmer than the yellow onions, though. But there has been a decent acreage expansion in red and if those yields are reasonable, I don't know if those prices will hold up. Besides, the demand for red onions is mainly for the coarse and supers and there are comparatively not many of those and the middle sorting will also have to go some time," continues the packer. Overall, he estimates the quality of onions to be slightly higher than last year. "There are also batches, often from late-sown plots, that are not fully mature. But how the quality really is, we will see next month when all the lots are in and dried."
For more information:
Eric Moerdijk
Monie Nieuwdorp
Deer road 61
4455 TK Nieuwdorp
+31 (0)113 612845
[email protected]
www.monie.nl