Markets united in raising growers’ prices onions

The regional markets Zuid and Emmeloord are united this week regarding growers’ prices for onions. Both fine and coarse lots are quoted exactly the same on both markets. For fine lots, the growers' prices rose this week to €13 to €15 per 100 kilos. The quotes for coarse lots are still €1 above that, so at €14 to €16 per 100 kilos. A lot of onions are crossing the border, resulting in a stable sentiment in the regional markets. According to the latest figures from KCB and GroentenFruit Huis, nearly 41,000 tons of onions were exported in week 40. The export volume was even slightly larger the week before. This has contributed to the export reaching over 400,000 tons at the beginning of October. Never before have so many onions gone abroad in the first three months of the season as now. The market for red onions is still in a slump. Some contract work is being done, but no new lots are being purchased from growers. Market Zuid still manages to set a quote of €14 to €18, but it is also mentioned here that there are few transactions. Preliminary yield estimate Next Thursday (October 30), the figures for the preliminary yield estimate are expected. The trade expects hectare yields of 50 to 55 tons, with most expecting the estimate to be close to 55 tons. As a result, this year's yield turns out to be much higher than in recent years. Since 2021, yields have consistently remained below 50 tons per hectare, with the last three years showing yields of 44.5 to 47 tons per hectare. For yields of 55 tons per hectare, we have to go back to 2017; a year in which all crops showed very high yields. The highest yield is recorded for the 2011 harvest with a national average of 68 tons per hectare. During that period, onions provided more kilos than is currently the case. In the years 2008 to 2012, there was only one harvest that yielded less than 60 tons per hectare. An intensive cultivation and soil compaction have taken their toll. Fewer possibilities to combat diseases and pests have exacerbated this effect. As a result, downy mildew, onion fly, and thrips have gained more hold on crop growth, thus limiting yields. Optimal conditions In 2025, the conditions for high yields were optimal, with an early sowing and generally good growing conditions afterward. However, due to drought, yields in the southwest are still disappointing. And even further north, there are growers who have to settle for 50 to 55 tons per hectare this year, while they are used to yields of 70 tons and more. This does not change the fact that there is a large harvest of sowing onions nationwide, which according to insiders comes close to 1.8 million tons. This figure also includes a significant amount of red onions (more than 300,000 tons). Although there are practical doubts as to whether the area of red onions this year was really as large as the Agricultural Census of 2025 indicated. If only looking at yellow sowing onions, then the production this year is estimated in the market at around 1.35 to 1.48 million tons. This makes the harvest of these onions about 75,000 to 200,000 tons larger than in 2024. The export currently has a lead of 90,000 tons over last year. However, this does not include the large flow of onions to Poland last year. Poland asks but offers too little This year, Poland is not yet active in the market. Requests are being made, but with €2 to €3 per 100 kilos, the offers from Poland remain far too low to do business. Poland is harvesting fewer onions this year (-6.7%) than last year. Nevertheless, prices there are lower than in 2024. To cope with their smaller harvest, the Poles can turn to Ukraine for cheap onions. Nevertheless, the expectation is that the Poles will want to buy onions in the Netherlands more noticeably in the not-too-distant future. However, it remains to be seen to what extent they will settle for lower quality in combination with what price they are willing to pay.