Other Dutch processors have indicated they will run out of onions this Spring but Leon van Meir expects to be able to offer local onions for the entire year. How is this possible?
"Maybe we spend more time outside than the average onion processor", says Leon. "In this way, we saw it would be an extraordinary year." Cultivation in Wallonia did also suffer from the extremely dry weather. Leon grows some of his onions in this region.
"Many processors did wait too long to buy onions. We, fortunately, did our homework on time. Farmers' results and those of processors will be very different", he explains.
"I expect that eventually only a small group - about 10 to 20% - will earn money. Roughly 30% will break even and the other half will experience losses - from a little bit of money to an enormous amount." Leon describes the general quality of the onions as very average.
"Current demand is very quiet. Many countries have alternatives or their own onions. Very little is being bought from farmers. The bale price is also under pressure. It has dropped about five cents. Onions are also still expensive."
"How the season will end is anyone's guess. We have never had a season like it. In the past, it often happened that a year when onions, as well as potatoes, were expensive early on, mostly did not end that way. There are, however, always exceptions to the rule", concludes Leon.
