Featured image: Troy Caston Farms onion progress, courtesy of John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms
MARKET
Washington:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms provided his report from his Salem, OR office this week. “We are still shipping onions out of Washington,” John said. “The Idaho shippers I work with are finished, so right now I am working with two Washington shippers, and they will go through April and probably into May. The onion quality is still very good, so it works well for us since we also move potatoes and we can move both onions and potatoes out of the same region.” He said, “Buyers are looking for all colors and sizes, and I would say demand is steady this week. The market is steady too. The red market has come off a little bit, but I think it’s going to bounce back.” On transportation, John said it’s been okay. “Trucks are easier to get, but the rates are very high and we have got to get these fuel prices down,” he said. “One good thing, at least this year, we know what we are dealing with when we start shipping out of the Imperial Valley.”
Idaho-E. Oregon:
Jason Pearson with Eagle Eye Produce in Nyssa, OR, told us on April 6 that Eagle Eye will be going until the end of the week. “We will be finished with our Oregon program on Friday, and then we will be shipping solely out of Texas until we transition to California,” Jason said. “Demand is fairly good this week for all colors and sizes. Colors are a little tight due to the Rio Fresh fire, but the onions we are shipping out of Texas have had really nice quality.” He continued, “Now, on the market, it is a mess! Mexico just keeps pushing product over the border, and it makes for a very inconsistent market. If everyone would just buy American onions like they should be doing, we wouldn’t have this issue.” On transportation, Jason said it’s been fine. “We can get the trucks, but prices are still high and I don’t see that ever changing.”
Idaho:
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum told us on April 6 that demand has picked up over the last week. “Last week was dead,” Rick said. “This week has picked up, and buyers are making the transition south pretty fast. We are still selling out of Idaho, Washington, Orgon and Utah, but we have had very good movement and nice deliveries out of Texas and Mexico.” He continued, “I have to keep reminding customers that we are now into flaky skins, and these aren’t the onions you’ve been used to for the last six-plus months.” On the market, Rick said it’s steady. “The market is steady this week, with the exception of some spot buys out there from shippers looking to clean up. On the new crop, the market is stable and since reds are in tight supply, there is some potential to increase there.” He added, “There are reports that some Mexico reds are getting cooked in transit and aren’t making it across the border so they are staying in Mexico, which doesn’t help matters on red availability.” On transportation, Rick said rates seem to be stabilized. “Freight rates haven’t gone up much, but there is still an availability issue at times,” he said. “And there are some lanes trucks just don’t want to take. It’s nearly impossible to get a truck from Texas to Cali. Drivers just don’t want to go there because of the diesel rates in California. As far as overall availability is concerned, sometimes we can get a truck in minutes, sometimes it takes days. So as I always mention, preplanning is key. If you have a truck, send it our way. We’ll load it!”
Mexico/Texas Rio Grande Valley:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, told us on April 6 he’ll finish up with Mexico early next week. “We have Texas reds now, and we’re clipping Texas yellows and will start shipping them on Monday.” He added, “We’re getting Torreón whites tomorrow.” Don Ed said, “We think the market will start reacting next week.”
Rio Grande Valley, TX:
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen said on April 6, “We’re very, very busy. I believe the holiday pull for Easter/Passover is the strongest since the pandemic began, and we’re attributing the demand to the holidays.” He added, “For USA-grown product, it’s just about demand exceeds.” David said he’s moving “all colors, all sizes, all packs, and the Rio Grande Valley is only 25-33 percent done. We have a long way to go. We’re all pretty happy about it – it’s hard to find anything to complain about.”
CROP
Chihuahua/New Mexico:
James Johnson with Carzalia Valley Produce in Columbus, NM, told us on April 6 that crops are progressing well. “All is well, and things are progressing nicely,” he said. James added, “We’re looking to start packing out of the south Chihuahua crop in roughly two weeks.”
Quemado/Eagle Pass, TX:
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen told us on April 6 the Quemado crop is ahead of schedule at this point, and he said, “I don’t think we’ll start any later than May 1.” Our thanks to grower Nowell Borders and David DeBerry for the great photos.
Imperial Valley:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms told us on April 6 that he will be headed to Troy Caston Farms to sell Imperial Valley onions on April 19. “We thought we would start out with reds this season, but it looks like we will be shipping yellows to start,” John said. “The onions are in good shape, and we don’t have seeder issues this year like everyone likes to call the region out for.” He went on to say, “As far as start-up goes, it’s not all gloom and doom, but I really thought we were going to be in a better place this season on startup and I think April is going to be rough. I mean if this country is going to continue to allow Mexican onions to flood the market every year, it’s going to be hard for these Imperial Valley guys to make it. We already have our Texas neighbors we compete with, and Vidalia starts shipping too. Then when you add the 10 million loads (I’m joking about the number) of Mexican onions being pushed over the border, that means it’s going to be a battle.” John concluded, “It’s maddening too because no one wants to do anything about it. Still am hopeful we can keep a good market and these California growers can make some money this year.”
