Dutch onion exports remain high due to low prices

Low prices are keeping overseas onion exports going for a long time. In the last week of May it was a bit quieter, but in the first half of June sales to these destinations picked up strongly again. In the last week of May, onion exports according to preliminary figures from KCB and GroentenFruit Huis fell to just under 19,000 tonnes. The fact that exports were slightly lower after several weeks of more than 22,000 tonnes was not due to demand from Ivory Coast and Guinea. Both countries increased imports from the Netherlands again. Ivory Coast was the largest buyer of Dutch onions in week 22, with almost 3,900 tonnes. Based on first signals for June, that amount does not seem to be lower in the past two weeks. This indicates that Dutch exports also reached a high level in weeks 23 and 24. Ivory Coast is currently making a major contribution to exports. The same applies to Guinea, which is still active in the market in June. Sierra Leone is also still taking a considerable volume. In combination with stable sales to the United Kingdom, exports remain in good shape. This is striking, because sales traditionally decline at the end of May and the beginning of June. The low prices are convincing buyers to order extra onions. New record The season total has now passed 1.3 million tonnes. This means a new export record has officially been reached. Never before have so many onions been exported in one season. Senegal is the largest buyer with 231,533 tonnes. That is about 50,000 tonnes more than the previous record for this country. Number two is Ivory Coast with 194,000 tonnes so far. The expectation is that this country will also pass 200,000 tonnes in the final weeks. That puts the volume about 20,000 tonnes above the previous record. Great Britain is a stable factor in Dutch onion exports. This destination accounts for about 150,000 tonnes this season. In 2022/23, 154,000 tonnes of onions went to the other side of the North Sea.