COPENHAGEN: Danish onion producers and exporters have been met with a slow market and low prices. Axel Månsson from Danish vegetable producer Axel Månsson A/S said the oversupply in the market has driven down the onion prices.
“This would normally be our peak period for onion exports, but we are not going to export this year due to the situation in the market. Normally we export to Sweden and Germany, with some shipments to Norway, but we have decided to stick with the domestic market this year.” said Axel.
Domestic prices for Danish onions are set by the government in advance, so prices there are stable.
Axel Månsson A/S grows yellow and red onions, and the company has recently started growing garlic as well. The growing season in Denmark runs from the middle of July through to the middle of March. After that, supply switches over to Egypt.
“Organic onions continue to be high in demand and we do plan on switching over to fully organic production in the next few years. We have also responded to this demand by increasing our organic production by 50% this year, going from a growing area of 100 hectares to 150 hectares. The growing area for the conventional onions will stay the same this year.” said Axel.
When asked about new varieties and new packaging for the Danish onion market, Axel shared that because most areas of the country are not densely populated, consumers there tend to be very traditional in what they are looking for.
Net bags are the preferred type of packaging for onions in Denmark, in smaller quantities of 750gr and 1kg.
“Our market in Denmark is still too small for new things such as pink onions. We also tried some new packaging a few years back, such as plastic bags and foil and mesh bags for the supermarkets house brand, but switched back to the cheaper mesh bags. At the end of the day, the price was the biggest factor, consumers didn’t want to pay more for fancy bags.” concluded Axel.
