International demand for onions keeps exports at a good level

Onion prices are not very high, but the pace of sales remains as intense as ever. In the week before Easter, almost 21,000 tonnes were exported, according to preliminary figures from the KCB and the GroentenFruit Huis. Total exports rose to 1.15 million tonnes earlier this month. This brings the export record of 1.3 million tonnes from the 2021/22 season ever closer. The lead in the interim total compared with that season still amounts to more than 50,000 tonnes. Since the turn of the year, Dutch onion exporters have managed to keep the weekly volume above 20,000 tonnes on average. In February it was a close call, but the average in weeks 6 through 9 came to 20,033 tonnes. In March, the average picked up again to 20,602 tonnes in weeks 10 through 14. After a brief dip, things picked up again quickly From reactions by exporters it appears that week 15 should take a dip into account, also because one day was lost due to Easter Monday. In week 16, however, exports picked up pace again. This is partly because Brazil has made itself known at the Dutch onion market. In the first two weeks of April, an estimated around 4,000 tonnes of onions were exported to Brazil. Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Israel also made themselves more clearly known this month as buyers after a few quiet weeks. Guinea, on the other hand, dropped off somewhat in the first half of this month. The main buyer in this period remains Great Britain. Since February, the British have been buying almost 4,000 tonnes of onions from the Netherlands every week. In week 14, there were seven destinations that each took more than 1,000 tonnes of onions. Brazil replaces Morocco The most striking name on this list is Morocco. That country provides a boost to Dutch onion exports because of a lack of local onions. In the same period last year, sales to this North African country amounted to exactly 0 kilos. In April, sales to Morocco fell away. Some exporters expect this country to return later in the season. Their conclusion is that the market has become oversupplied in a short time. The temporary decline in sales to Morocco is more than compensated for by interest from Brazil.