This week the onion market has seen a 3 to 4 cent rise in the purchasing price. It is clear that the price increase is driven by the growers, who are now standing firm and not selling under 19 to 20 cents, while last week we saw 16 to 17 cent transactions," says Martijn van Damme from Dacomex. "Now it is up to the packagers and exporters to turn this increased purchasing price into a higher sales price. This works to a degree, but because the sales price has risen so fast in a short period of time many buyers are unsure about placing orders and are adjusting their required volume accordingly."
"In terms of sales, Africa is still the driving force, with large volumes heading for Senegal in particular. However, Brazil is also coming back on the scene with a limited demand for Dutch onions. For this market, higher prices could be realized right now but quality is a major stumbling block, with poor color being a particular problem. In addition, Europe is busy with their own stock of onions right now. The Polish market seems somewhat saturated and now, after they have already decreased their volume by a reasonable amount, there is less interest," continues Martijn.
"The big question now is whether we can maintain this price level until the end of the year. The grower is holding the reigns tight but also has to take into account the fact that many companies have to get their products to the consumers quickly so that the quality remains. Furthermore, it remains unclear what opportunities there will be after January/February when we have to search for an alternative to Russia. The question is whether Brazil will save the season again like they did last year," says the exporter.
