Record for seed onion harvest turns out to be smaller than expected

The record production of seed onions in the Netherlands is smaller than previously predicted. Many expected a total harvest of 1.8 million tons. According to the preliminary harvest estimate from CBS, the harvest is at 1.73 million tons. Based on the prior speculations, the onion market can temporarily manage with the estimate released today. Market participants predicted yields per hectare of 50 to 55 tons before the publication, with most estimates close to 55 tons. CBS reports a yield of 52.1 tons gross per hectare for the total area of seed onions. This amount is 11% larger than last year. Combined with a larger area, this results in a harvest that is 1.7 million tons greater than ever before. Compared to last year, this represents an increase of 17%. For seed onions, it has generally been a favorable season with an early start and good growth. A larger area and many hours of sunshine also contributed to high yields for this crop. However, the quality may be lower due to common soil diseases, which can cause higher losses, concludes CBS in an explanation of the figures. The growth of the area for seed onions can be attributed to the red variety. This area is reported to be 35% larger, despite some practical questions surrounding this claim, according to CBS. The area for yellow seed onions is almost 2% smaller than last year. The gross production of yellow seed onions in the Netherlands rises to 1.4 million tons due to higher yields per hectare. This amount is 13% larger than last year. This means that the availability of yellow seed onions this year is about 160,000 tons greater than a year ago. However, this is in terms of gross kilograms. It is expected that late infection of fusarium will cause somewhat more losses, which could result in the net production being slightly lower than it initially appears. That does not negate the fact that there is a larger quantity available this season for export. This is not a problem, as exports are running at full speed. In the first fourteen weeks of this season, more than 400,000 tons were exported for the first time, building an export lead of 90,000 tons compared to last year. The yield of red seed onions is estimated at 290,000 tons gross (+45%). Last year, 200,000 tons of red onions were harvested.