"It's hitting some snags," is how Tjerk Nagel of Konaxx Onions describes the Dutch onion market in a nutshell." We're dealing with the aftermath of last season's sky-high prices. We're selling onions for €0.50/kg as if that's quite normal. Until last year, we'd not thought that possible. Yet, not all invoices from last season have been paid, which makes people cautious," he begins.
He says another change is that, since the pandemic, the logistics network has proved quite fragile. "The time when people called in the morning to load two containers in the evening is gone. Also, global food flows have been disrupted since the war broke out in Ukraine. Because of uncertain economies, countries are very concerned with maintaining their food supply. After all, the Romans used to say, 'Give the populace bread and circuses'. For the onion sector, a base has, thus, been established for the market."
Annually, some 25,000 tons of onions roll off Konaxx's conveyor belts. The Dutch company offers various small packs, 25 kg and big bags, and bulk. It exports most of its onions to places like Scandinavia, Central Europe, and the Baltic States. "Prices should stabilize. I foresee plenty of opportunities this season, especially toward the [former] Eastern Bloc. There was a lot of demand from there for onion sets, which should result in export opportunities there later in the season. Red onions will have an entirely different year, especially because India has shortages," says Tjerk.
"In the Netherlands, climate change has made the growth season increasingly erratic in recent years. Some cultivation areas have also become onion-fatigued because those have been grown too intensively in recent decades. Fortunately, that has yet to affect our area.” Scale increases make Dutch cultivation vulnerable, too. "Much has to be done in a short time. Since quality is again difficult to control this season, we're delighted anew with our optical grader," Tjerk concluded.
