There are many destinations available for onion exporters

If we only look at the prices, there seems to be little exciting happening in the onion market at first glance. However, if we delve a bit deeper, there are notable differences in what parties expect the market to do. Sorters are somewhat cautious due to a slightly smaller demand, while growers look at what has been exported in recent weeks and have a more optimistic view of the onion market. For the Dutch farmer, the onion market is generally the most volatile commodity they deal with. In recent weeks, the growers’ price for onions dried from (temporary) storage has been stable at €13 to €14. This price is fairly in line with the off-field period when €11 to €12 was common. Not all onions that are temporarily in potato storage have a new owner yet, but the volume is not large enough to create real price pressure due to compelling supply of onions that need to be sold for the potatoes. In the short term, this could create a ceiling in the market. Opinions differ on what will happen in the slightly longer term after mid-October. Growers generally believe that a significant volume has already been exported this season and that this helps pave the way for a steadily rising market. Sorters point out that especially in Senegal there are quite a few onions waiting on the quays to go to the consumer, and that is why things are (temporarily) a bit calmer. They also highlight the generally good hectare yields of onions in the Netherlands. 'A lot of volume is still going out, but if we all don’t fill up to 100%, or actually a bit more, then there are always a few who start doing odd things,' says an insider. Geographical distribution The demand for onions is broad and remains so. Of course, West Africa is an important player, but Central America and Asia are also participating well. It is striking that there is also quite a bit of demand from countries in Southern Europe such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal. They usually come in later in the season. These destinations tend to ask for large onions, which there are not in abundance this season. Willingness to do business in the long term is limited among both buyers and sellers. There is not much difference between offers and asks, but both sides hardly step over a cent difference. We have almost forgotten it, but at the very beginning of the season, considerable planting onions were purchased for €25 and more, and they turned out to be (much) too expensive in hindsight. Possibly, sorters have become a bit more cautious because of this. And as with every season, participation in the market price is a topic of discussion. The DCA Benchmark Price Packaged Onions is under slight pressure overall this week, but there are notable differences between sizes. Especially for the Philippines, there was considerable demand for three-packs. Three-packs in the size 35-50 are almost more expensive than fine mediums of 40-60 at some places. Read here the explanation from DCA Market Intelligence on the new quotations.