Analysis Organic
Trade on organic markets continues to dry up
The trade in organic table potatoes and onions is further decreasing. This is not necessarily a bad sign, as the stocks have significantly decreased and many batches already have a buyer, especially with onions. The export of the new harvest is only moderately competitive.
Although the trade may be declining, the demand for organic table potatoes and onions is certainly not sluggish for this time of the year. Additionally, a considerable amount has been sold this season and the stocks at the grower's end have greatly diminished. For yellow onions, most of what remains already has a buyer, or the sorter is already familiar with the volume that will come from a grower. Yellow onions also do not have much time left, as a sorter mentions that the quality is simply lower this year, which has been clearly visible in recent weeks.
The quality of yellow onions sometimes deteriorates rapidly, leading to batches needing to be sold sooner or faster than expected, whether they are already contracted or not. Despite the stable, reasonable demand in the organic market for this time of the year, it is challenging to process everything quickly. Some growers have waited too long to sell the onions, according to a sorter. This now requires urgency. With lower quality, finding a place for them is not immediate.
Due to a low number of transactions, it is difficult to determine an indicative price. The DCA Indicative Price for organic yellow onions slightly decreases this week, ranging from €72 to €85 per 100 kilograms. The fine size grading and lower quality are at the lower end of the range, while the large size grading is at the upper end of the mentioned range.
Table Potato Market
In the table potato market, the regular work continues, but it is not notably busy. There are currently no gaps to sell extra batches, which is likely due to the new harvest of organic table potatoes around the Mediterranean region. It remains uncertain what volume comes from there, as the current conditions in Israel may result in a lower volume than in previous years. Additionally, the current late growing season of 2024 contributes to a better market balance due to the delayed growing season, but this has not yet translated into market benefits.
The DCA indicative price for organic table potatoes remains unchanged this week, averaging around €66 per 100 kilograms. Batches with lower quality are sold for an average of €60 per 100 kilograms, while sought-after varieties of very good quality start with a 7 as the first digit.
