Featured image: Pukekohe, New Zealand crop progress. Photo courtesy of Robert Bell with Western Onion in Camarillo, CA, and David Kana of NZ Onion Co. More photos below.
Colorado Western Slope/Corinne, UT:
Chuck Hill with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said on November 20, “Everything is going just fine for Colorado and Utah. Business is perky, trucks are available, and prices are steady.” Chuck said whites are up this week. He continued, “Utah is done with reds. Colorado still has all three colors. And quality is outstanding.”
Idaho-E. Oregon:
Dwayne Fisher with Tamura Farms in Wilder, ID, and Champion Produce in Parma, ID, reported on November 20. “At last, unburden by what has been!” Dwayne said. “It does feel like a big relief and hope is in the air. In terms of what is strengthening: the freight rates have skyrocketed and don’t look to be coming down anytime soon. We hoped that the onions would follow, but not so far.” He continued, “The white market remains strong, yet not as much furry for them this past week, but still strong. Reds and yellows are consistent. Yellow returns with packing and storage out are below production costs to our farms and growers and that is a shame given the northwest controls the volume in the market. I am a firm believer that these levels should only happen with foreign influence, so they taste the bitter cup as well, but here we are. We were hopeful this week would bring a lot of action for movement, but we are actually off our normal weekly volume, not given it is a week before a major onion eating holiday. We will see how the end of the week shapes up.” Dwayne concluded his report with, “We wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving! Living in the USA there is plenty to be thankful for!”
Washington
Hayden Bingham with L&M Cos. in Raleigh, NC, told us on November 20, “Demand has been steady this week,” Hayden said. “We’re keeping busy, and we’ve had good Thanksgiving business. Buyers are looking for all sizes and colors and we have plenty of availability to cover the orders. We are seeing more retail orders so medium reds and yellows are moving well.” Hayden continued on the market. “The white market continues to increase and there is big demand there. The red and yellow market is stable. The onion quality has been great and we haven’t had any issues.” Hayden also commented on freight this week. “Freight is getting sketchy, so it is important to plan ahead. The last-minute orders on Friday afternoon at 3:00 pm aren’t going to cut it with truck availability tighten up and rates starting to escalate.”
Washington/Oregon/Idaho:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms in Salem, OR, told us on November 20, saying, “Demand has been good this week and we’re busy,” John said, “It looks like Tanksgiving is actually happening this year and we are getting the holiday pull. Most of the orders going east were loaded last week and we had plenty of activity on Monday and Tuesday. Today is the last big day to ship everything. Most shippers are sold out for the week or close to it.” John continued, “White onions are becoming more active, and pricing is increasing there and we expect that to be the case through the first of the year and probably into February when Mexico starts bringing over whites. There aren’t a ton of growers that plant a ton of whites and what they do plant they usually want to get shipped out before the end of the year. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Nevada does such a great job on whites with good volume, it’s hard to compete.” John added, “I have to say that the quality of the onions we are shipping out of Washington, Oregon and Idaho is great. We really haven’t had any issues and we expect that to continue. It should be a very good holiday season!” On the red and yellow market, John said, “The market seems to be steady for both red and yellow onions. Pricing is good on reds and normally the current market on yellows would be considered very good as well, but when you take the current yellow market and factor in inflation, pricing is good, but definitely not outstanding.” John also commented on transportation. “Freight is getting worse every day,” John said. “Weather is already affecting transportation in the Midwest and its just going to get uglier. Rates are starting to go up and that’s going to continue too. I live in an area well known for Christmas tree harvesting, and I just keep seeing the helicopters flying overhead day after day. So, the Christmas tree shipments don’t seem to be waning.” Finally, John said, “To all of my fellow onion folks, I wish you a Safe and very Happy Thanksgiving!”
Idaho/Washington/Oregon/Utah/North Dakota/Michigan
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID told us on November 20 that demand has been good this week. “We continue to move Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, North Dakota, and Michigan,” Rick said. “We’ve been very busy and it’s good to know Thanksgiving matters again. We are moving everything big to small and in all colors.” On the market, Rick commented, “Whites continue to be on the rise and will be into Christmas. Reds are holding firm, and yellows seem to be stable. Quality has been great, and we’ve had good deliveries. Now the bad news… freight is going through the roof and the Christmas trees are taking up trucks. It almost seems like these Christmas tree guys will pay almost anything and we’re taking a backseat. Plus, the weather is changing and that all has an effect too. It makes the FOBs so high that there does seem to be room for that extra something for holiday pricing. Then you have a little pressure from Canada on the small stuff. Sure, Canada is a very small factor, but it does have some impact from the Midwest going east.” He concluded his report saying, “Remember, we have boilers, Cipollinis and pearls, so come and get ‘em! Also, we at Greener Produce want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving spent with family and friends!”
CROP
Tampico, MX/Texas Rio Grande Valley:
Chuck Hill with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, told us on November 20 both the Tampico and S. Texas crops are coming along well. “All good so far,” Chuck said of growing conditions. Mexico traditionally starts in January/February, and S. Texas follows in April.
NZ Pukekohe:
Our friend Robert Bell with Western Onion in Camarillo, CA, provided us with an update and photos of the Pukekohe, NZ, crop from David Kana of NZ Onion Co. The November 18 update said, “After 2-3 inches of rainfall last week Pukekohe onion crops are moving on and developing normally. The short-day onions are ready to harvest, and the Pukekohe early long keeper crops are just commencing to bulb. “Hybrid Tasman crops of Red Devil and Tas 27 are looking well with no sign of pink root or Fusarium and are on track for some good high-quality reds. Overall Crops are looking healthy and given optimum growing conditions from now we expect some good yields and great quality for the 2025 harvest.” Our thanks to Robert and David for the news and photos.
