Featured image: The image was taken at the 2024 Crookham Onion Reveal on August 27. The variety is “Caldwell.” See our feature story this week for more about Crookham’s Onion Reveal.
MARKET
Bronx, NY:
Lou Getzelman with Canyon Sales Co. on the Hunts Point Market told us on August 28, “After a somewhat shaky week, the market for jumbo yellows seems to have stabilized,” Lou said. “We are shipping out of Washington, Idaho-E. Oregon, California, New York, and Canada. Next week we expect more onions to come on. Reds are perhaps a touch lower this week with more local volume available in NY and we are seeing some pressure on the White market. I think that we’re all in for an uncertain month to two months while the Northwest finishes harvest.” He continued, “Parts of Idaho experienced significant heat this summer, the spring was wet, and there was even some hail thrown in the mix. I’ve heard some fields in the NW look really good and some fields they’re not so sure about yet. Once everything gets in bins, a few weeks after that, shippers will know whether there is more onions than space or vice versa and be able to devise a better plan.” On transportation, Lou said, “Transportation remains very easy out of the northwest, so no changes there, not really seeing much of a change due to the holiday weekend.”
Organic Onions:
Brad Sumner with Pacific Coast Trading Co. in Portland provided his report on August 28. “Lately it has been bid season.” Brad said. “Seasonal bids for year-round and shorter, 4-5 month terms. It is tough to have your growers predict yields, size. So, we do the best we can and get them turned in. The catch is coming off 2 years of above normal pricing and heading into what I hope is a normal Organic onion marketing season.” He continued, “Growers still get theirs but the shortages, the chasing, and the struggle to fill orders goes away. This makes for a happier Brad and happier customers.” He also noted, “White organic onions appear to be the hot ticket item, as reds continue strong but available and there are some deals out there. Yellow jumbo organics seem to be the long suit as mediums and small mediums have higher interest from buyers. Organic onions still coming from a lot of areas. Mexico, CA, WA, OR, CO, ID, NM. Quality is good to very good, with no rough spots I know of.”
Washington/Oregon:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms in Salem, OR, told us on August 28, saying, “Demand is good, but there isn’t a big rush for the holiday,” John said, “Holiday buys have pretty much gone by the wayside anymore. People are trying to get kids in school, take last-minute vacations and there isn’t a lot of thought about buying onions. After the holiday when buyers are back at it, there will probably be a bit rush to buy onions. This week, buyers are looking for reds and reds are a little tight. I’m currently selling out of Washington and Oregon. There isn’t much available out of Idaho.” On the market, John said, “The market isn’t on fire, except whites. The market there is still good. We need to keep in mind that out of the gate in the Northwest, we typically have a harvest market. Growers are bringing their early onions and getting those sold and shippers are eager to get those off the floor. It’s going to be mid-September before growers start getting into the storage varieties and then they can assess what they have to put in the barn and then we’ll see where the market lands. There is always the potential for the market to slip during the first part of the season with these early onions and then the market bounces back as we get into the storage season. One thing to potentially look at is the Canadian crop. The weather hasn’t been kind lately and they have had some heavy rains. We’ll have to see how that all shakes out in the weeks ahead.”
Idaho/Washington/Oregon/Mexico (through Texas)/Spain
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID provided his report on August 28 saying, “We’re finished with California and New Mexico,“ Rick said. “We’re shipping out of Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Mexico through Texas, and we are still working the Spain program for East Coast customers; New York to Miami. The whites coming up through Mexico are some of the best we’ve seen this year. Demand is okay, but its no gangbusters. There isn’t much of a holiday rush, but that’s not surprising. We haven’t seen a lot of big buys for a lot of holidays lately. After the holiday and as we get into September, we expect sales to pick up, after the kids return to school and the last-minute vacations are over.” Rick continued, “Next week, more Idaho folks should be shipping. This is pretty late for an Idaho start. Some shippers are going, but typically you would have more Idaho shippers going by now. It’s just been a weird season for sure.” On the market, Rick commented, “There aren’t a lot of large onions out there right now. The predictions are that larger onions are coming. Since we don’t have many now, the market is good for those. On mediums, it’s soft and the red market is still strong. Whites are all over the place again this week. Buyers want to get through this early stuff and get into storage crop, but you have to have onions before that happens, so again, after the holiday demand should pick up.” Onion transportation, Rick said, “Freight continues to be super easy with so many options like flatbeds available.” He concluded his report saying, “Next month we’ll have new crop Cipollinis and pearls. You’ll want to get your orders in on those.”
CROP
Colorado Western Slope/Corinne, UT:
Chuck Hill with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, told us on Aug. 28 the Colorado Western Slope season is expected to kick off mid-September. Olathe grower John Harold is reporting excellent quality, Chuck said, and all three colors will be available at the start of the season. “John Harold said the whites are so bright you need a welding mask to look at them,” Chuck said. “Growing conditions have been great, and the crop looks really good.” He said the Corinne, UT, growers are reporting similar conditions, and that crop should start shipping in early October.
