Onion market is on edge how much more is there to stretch?

What is in store for the onion market? That question is being asked by many growers and sorters now that the prices for onions are rising quite easily. As usual, everyone reasons a bit in terms of their own wallet. The supply of onions that was temporarily stored in potato storage has been worked through, and the quantity of onions in the emergency cells is also rapidly decreasing. This is clearly noticeable in the trade. Growers with good onions in storage are not letting them go for just any price. Processors are also seeing this. Where two or three weeks ago €18 for delivery in December was seen as outrageous by buyers, this week €20 for December and €18 for immediate delivery for good onions is acceptable. Due to a brisk export, several sorting companies need to replenish their working stock. Among processors and exporters, there are some complaints that an increase in the onion price is not handy for the market, especially for the exports towards Senegal. There are enough, or rather too many, onions there, and if you want to keep the momentum, you shouldn't tamper too much with the price, some exporters believe. The reason the export is going so well is that we are price-wise about the cheapest, says one exporter. With a harvest of 1.4 million tons of onions in the preliminary estimate by CBS, we will need everything to get the total stock worked through, according to a wisdom that is regularly heard from the trade. Dip seems unlikely From the perspective of processors and exporters, it makes sense that they are trying to temper the market a bit. Historically, the market does not often take a step back around this time. In terms of volume, these are usually the export weeks, and it would be unusual for this season to be different. Only when most sorters have completed their orders by Christmas does the mood sometimes change. For onions for delivery in the second half of the season, buyers are very cautious. With a bit of luck, Africa will remain open in the first weeks of January. With a bit of bad luck, you have a slow period at the beginning of the year. As a processor, you don’t want to have expensive onions on your hands. What demand from Europe will do later in the season is still mainly speculation. The fact that Poland is currently only marginally present in the market is not considered a very positive sign by traders. Last year, they almost pulled a batch that had issues right from under your hands, and now you hear or see them not at all, according to an insider. Growers are asking around €22 for February or €25, but buyers are not yet jumping on that. The room to go down is greater than the room to go up, buyers easily proclaim. That is, of course, part of the game. The DCA Benchmark Price for Packed Onions is rising slightly this week. It is not going very willingly, as sorters note. If you set your price too high, you won’t hear back from the buyer, and they let it slide quite easily by half a cent, according to insiders. Read here the explanation from DCA Market Intelligence on the new quotes.