Morocco surprises with high ranking on onion export list

Morocco is in the top four of the most important buyers of Dutch onions in week 11. That is notable, because this North African country normally does not import large volumes. Important growing areas in Morocco were hit by waterlogging earlier this year. As a result, the country has had to deal with an onion shortage for longer during the transition to the new season. This gap is being filled with onions from the Netherlands. This is normally also the case, but the volumes are higher than usual this year. Moreover, the prices of imported onions are low, which works in buyers' favor. In mid-February the first onions went to Morocco, then it was only 46 tons. In the last week of February and the first week of March, the volumes also remained limited at 240 and 260 tons. In the second week of March, serious demand emerged, resulting in a sales volume of almost 1,700 tons. With that, Morocco did not fall short of a major buyer such as Guinea, which imported only a few tons more that week. Only Spain and Great Britain brought in somewhat more onions from the Netherlands in week 11. Total sales in the second week of March nevertheless remained just under 19,000 tons, according to preliminary figures from the KCB and GroentenFruit Huis. Based on export signals from the market, the expectation is that a next step will be taken in week 12. Never before so early in the season has the threshold of a total of 1.1 million tons of exports been passed. This means Dutch exports are rapidly heading toward a new record. The relatively low prices this season and the large harvest in 2025 contribute to this.