onions generic

Exports of onions grown in the Netherlands dropped by 17 per cent through the first nine months of 2011, according to new figures from Productschap Tuinbouw.

According to the Dutch Horticultural organisation, volumes dropped from 698,000 tonnes in 2010 to 577,000 tonnes this year.

The overall fall was attributed to lower volumes sent to Russia, down 28 per cent, Germany (down 30 per cent) African nations (down 9 per cent) and Central America (down 29 per cent).

Elsewhere, there were decreases in onion numbers sent to France (down 32 per cent) and Spain (down 31 per cent), while shipments to Senegal remained stable at 65,000 tonnes.