The onion importing season has burst loose at Van der Lans International again. The first New Zealand onions arrived at sorting and packing station Jonika in Oostdijk yesterday. "There is good demand for imported onions, especially from Germany. The expectation is that the large retailers will start the import programmes two weeks earlier. The stocks of German onions are smaller than last year and people want to be able to present nice, white onions on their shelves," says Jaap de Ruijg.
According to the importer the weather conditions in New Zealand have been good for the onion cultivation. "There were some rainy days in January, which benefited the yield. The share of coarse onions 70 mm+ was considerably larger this season, whilst picklers and 35/50 mm are reasonably limited. There is a slightly larger harvest of yellow onions, with more coarse sizes. As far as red onion are concerned the area has shrunk a little, so there will be less of these available."
The main buyer of New Zealand onions are traditionally the European market with Germany, France and the United Kingdom in particular, but Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan are also good buyers. "At the moment there is good demand for 40/60 mm onions for destination Indonesia. The United Kingdom is demanding coarse onions this season, due to the situation in Spain," says Jaap.
The import season runs from the start of March to mid July, when there is enough new harvest of European onions available. The importer offers all small packaging options in collaboration with Jonik, from pounds to band bags and big bags. "The actual price of the New Zealand onions doesn't differ much from last season, but the difference between them and the European onions is smaller. The switch is therefore easier to make," concludes Jaap.
