from minus to plus

The new export season has brought a remarkable recovery. After closing the previous season with a 6% decline, this year’s exports have taken off with renewed strength. While the first week of the new harvest began modestly, with just over 6,000 tonnes shipped, the second week marked a dramatic comeback. Fast forward 21 weeks, and exports are now 13% ahead compared to the same period last season.

Highest Dutch onion yield ever
In 2023, the cultivated onion area will be almost back to the 2021 level. According to preliminary figures from the Dutch CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics ), this will increase even further in 2024. Never before have so many seed onions been grown in the Netherlands as this harvest season. The area increased by almost 12%. The total gross yield has therefore increased by almost 15% compared to last season to 1.5 million. That is the highest yield ever.

Yield increased significantly
More red and yellow onions were grown in Dutch fields. The final yield per hectare is expected to be 1.7% higher. The total gross yield of yellow seed onions is provisionally estimated by Statistics Netherlands at 1.3 million tonnes. This is a growth of 13%. The yield of red seed onions is estimated at 200,000 tonnes, which even means a growth of 29% compared to the previous sowing season.

Stark contrast
These large national growth figures form a stark contrast with the yield of the Zeeland fields, traditionally the birthplace of the Holland Onion. While the national Holland Onion cultivation rose to a record high of no less than 32,000 hectares, the area of ​​Zeeland agricultural land has shrunk to just 2,500 hectares over the past 7 years. Zeeland growers have hardly any fresh water, which resulted in dramatically low harvests and much too small onions during the past dry summers, meaning that Zeeland onion farmers can no longer earn a living.

The onion province of the Netherlands
When it comes to onion trade, Zeeland continues to be the undisputed leader. Around 80% of all harvested Holland Onions are sorted and processed in Zeeland centres. And almost all Holland Onions are transported by inland waterway to the port of Vlissingen in Zeeland, from where they are shipped in refrigerated containers to more than 130 countries around the world.

Export season 2023-2024
If we look back at the previous export season, we find a number of fairly growing destinations on the European mainland in terms of percentage growth compared to the previous year, such as Montenegro, Greece, Malta, Croatia, Slovakia, Italy, Slovenia, Austria and Norway with growth figures of more than 50%.

This is offset by a fairly sharp decline in exports in the 2023-2024 season to Ukraine, Latvia, Poland and Luxembourg.

The Great White North
Over the past five years, the export of Dutch onions to The Great White North has taken off impressively. While not a single Holland Onion crossed the Canadian borders in 2019, demand began to grow steadily from 2021 onwards. This resulted in a spectacular increase of more than 530% in the 2023-2024 season, bringing the export volume to no less than 3.6 million kilos. The Canucks seem to be increasingly charmed by Dutch onions.

The current export season
There are no major surprises to report in the top 3 of the current export season. Senegal is once again in the lead with over 117,000 tonnes, closely followed by Ivory Coast (103,500 tonnes) and Great Britain in 3rd place (49,000 tonnes). Ivory Coast has more than fully recovered compared to last season, when at the same time ‘only’ 72,000 tonnes were imported. Great Britain, despite its 3rd position, is once again showing a striking decline. In the previous export season, total exports also decreased by 13%. Israel is already in eighth position with over 22,500 tonnes. The country also showed a growth of 53% in the 2023-2024 season compared to the previous season.

The traditionally European top export destinations are consolidating their starting positions for the time being this current season. After Great Britain, we find Belgium in a solid 5th place. France in position 12 and a little further on Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Italy. Just outside the top 30 are Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Norway and Spain.

Long-distance destination
On the long-distance destinations of the Holland Onion, we welcome back Malaysia, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Central American countries are in any case well represented this export season with an almost weekly export to Nicaragua and Honduras, but Guatemala (in position 27) and El Salvador (in position 43) are also on the rise again this season. Recently, neighbouring country Costa Rica also opened its borders to the Holland Onion.