DCA Packed Onions Benchmark Price rises further on strong demand

Business is brisk for Dutch onion exporters. Strong demand has allowed selling prices to be raised in several steps. The market now appears to be stabilising somewhat.Asia has dropped out of the market because of the higher prices in the Netherlands. Buyers in those destinations are looking for alternatives and may have found them in cheaper supplies from China.Nevertheless, large volumes of onions are still being exported. Trade may be a little quieter than last week, mainly because particularly large volumes were shipped last week.Africa is currently the main destination for Dutch onions, although substantial volumes are also being sold in Central America and the Caribbean. Africa continues to account for the largest share, particularly Senegal and Ivory Coast. The latter market even appears to be slightly oversupplied.There are still few firm figures available, but very large volumes of onions have been shipped to Ivory Coast over the past three weeks. According to preliminary figures from KCB and GroentenFruit Huis, exports in week 36 exceeded 9,000 tonnes. Initial indications suggest that volumes in the following two weeks were hardly any lower, if at all.Vessels to SenegalVarious conventional vessels are once again sailing to Senegal, in addition to the container loads being sold there. Depending on the sailing dates of these vessels, weekly exports to the West African country fluctuate between 3,000 and well over 11,000 tonnes.A considerable volume of large onions is also being shipped to Great Britain. Brazil has also been very active in the market for larger Dutch onions over the past two weeks. In addition, large volumes were shipped to Mauritania, Mali, Malaysia, Guinea, Gambia and the Dominican Republic over the past two weeks. The export figure for week 38 therefore looks set to be very high.The latest available export figures from KCB and GroentenFruit Huis are for week 36. Almost 32,000 tonnes were exported that week. Ivory Coast accounted for a large share of this volume, as described above. Great Britain and Senegal followed with around 3,000 tonnes each. Guinea was just below that level, followed by Mali, Malaysia and Gambia.Onion prices upStrong demand has pushed the DCA Packed Onions Benchmark Price for medium onions above €40 per 100 kilos. The increase in prices for large onions was somewhat more limited over the past week, rising by €1 to €45 to €46 per 100 kilos. Jumbo onions are barely available, with prices of €50 or €55 per 100 kilos being quoted. The latter is at the very top of the market this week.The 35-50 millimetre size is the only grade that has not increased in price. This is partly because these onions are now often included in mixed loads. By pricing them very competitively, exporters use them as a way of encouraging buyers to accept the higher prices for the 45-65 millimetre grade.