Featured image: Texas Rio Grande Valley onions. Photo courtesy of Chuck Hill with the Onion House in Weslaco, TX.
MARKET
Colorado Western Slope/Corinne, UT:
Chuck Hill with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said on December 4 that his Colorado deal will run about another month. “We have all three colors, and quality and size are very good.” He said Utah will wrap up in about a week. “Only yellows are shipping now,” he said. Trucks are “iffy, which is normal for this time of year,” Chuck said.
Organic Onions
Brad Sumner with Pacific Coast Trading Co. in Portland provided his report on December 4. “Just as we are all settled into the organic onion storage deal,” Brad said. “The deal in which markets barely fluctuate, quality stays consistent along with supply. I looked over at my calendar and realized in about 2-3 weeks we will have Mexican organic whites. By mid-January, barring any weather, we could have OG reds and then 4 weeks after OG yellows coming across in McAllen, Texas. The influx of white OG onions does not worry me much as they have grown in demand and supply is always thinner starting in the new year. Some of the biggest organic red producers have whispered they might be out in February, kind of like last year, so the Mexican reds could be a blessing.” He continued, “The organic yellow deal could be trouble. The yellow organic market supply is abundant now, and relief might not come until April but late April, early May El Centro comes off with its OG onions. Maybe smaller OG yellow onions from down South will have a better chance. We’ll keep an eye on all this as we roll through the holidays.”
Bronx, NY:
Lou Getzelman with Canyon Sales Co. on the Hunts Point Market told us on December 4, “Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break,” Lou said. “It was nice to have a couple of days “off,” I always feel that because of the Thursday/Friday dynamic, it’s really the only time of year mostly everyone gets some time to be off in unison and be with their families.” He continued, “The red and yellow jumbo market has stayed steady for the past few weeks. Holiday business was good, but it didn’t translate into much movement off FOBs. I think we’re starting to see some strengthening in the medium market, however. Seems like medium yellows are tightening up a bit as some smaller growers in the NE and Canada signal that they are finishing up soon. Since we last spoke, we’ve seen a significant leg up in the White market, and I think we’re beginning to feel more of it. We expect the White market to remain strong through Christmas.” And he said, “The next couple weeks should be very busy as Thanksgiving basically fell as late as possible this year, hopefully, we can see a bump up in the jumbo deal. Sheds are going be short a couple days packing this year for Holiday business, so it’s wise to book your orders early. It’ll be interesting to see which days sheds will be loading, I’m sure there is going be some time off.” On transportation, Lou said, “Freight has raised truckload delivered prices across the country as you can no longer load flatbeds because of the cold, and this is really the first week we’ve started to see that translate to a higher sales price in the terminal. Being a rail car receiver has been a major advantage for those who take cars in New York. Hopefully, we can start to see some reefer truck rates come down again and intermodal become more available so these higher sales can translate to better FOB for the grower.” Lous concluded this week’s report with, “Looking forward to seeing those who are in town next week for the New York Produce show!”
Washington/Oregon/Idaho:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms in Salem, OR, told us on December 4, saying, “Demand has been a little hectic this week,” John said, “Buyers are back on the desk trying to get a handle on their program business and trying to get other customer needs handled too. All colors and sizes are moving well. Mexico is still pulling and that has helped the market.” John continued, “White onions continue to be more active, and pricing is increasing there. Nevada is doing a bang up job on whites and they are getting a premium so it stands to reason that the Northwest pricing can follow. Reds have been solid all along and when they remain in double digits, not much to complain about. When it comes to medium yellows, shippers are selling out fast. What baffles me is, there are some shippers that are quoting low prices when they don’t have any mediums to sell. It’s like, “I don’t have any to sell you, but if I did, the prices would be this.” Why not say I don’t have to sell but if I did, my price would be higher. The problem here is that when you quote low pricing when you don’t have onions to sell, these people are coming back when you do have onions and they are asking for the low price. Remember, it’s easier to go down than it is to go up. Sometimes I just don’t get it.” John also commented on transportation. “Freight is getting bad,” John said. “It’s the weather, the higher elevations traveled and the road closures. Trucks are hard to get, and railcars are too. When you’re loading a truck, don’t forget the temp recorders and don’t forget to tell the driver that the temp recorder is there. Drivers may not know unless you specifically tell them and if the recorder gets lost in translation, you have a problem.”
Idaho/Washington/Oregon/Utah/North Dakota/Michigan
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID told us on December 4 that demand has been good this week. “We continue to move Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, North Dakota, and Michigan,” Rick said. “Demand this week is off to a good start. I think buyers are trying to refill after Thanksgiving and some are making a smart move to get ahead of possible freight increases and higher FOBs. Everything seems to be moving pretty well from Colossals to pre-packs, but the mediums and pre-packs destined for retail seem to be higher on the list. Mostly, because they are harder to find.” On the market, Rick commented, “The market appears to be stable across the board for all colors and sizes. Exports are still moving and that’s a good sign.” Rick also commented on transportation this week saying, “Everything is now going on reefers and that limits availability. Some drivers are leery to take onion loads because if they don’t deliver, it’s going back on them and that is getting more prevalent. Another reason to stay ahead of the game and preplan for the upcoming holidays.” Finally, Rick said, “Remember, we have boilers, Cipollinis and pearls, so come let’s go!”
CROP
S. Texas/Tampico, Mexico:
Chuck Hill with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, told us on December 4 that crops in both the Texas Rio Grande Valley and in Tampico look very good, and he said Mexico could possibly start a bit early this year. Texas traditionally starts mid-March. Our thanks to Chuck and growers Lance and Clayton Neuhaus for the great photo of RGV onions.
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen, TX, said on December 4 that Tampico is expected to start in six weeks with all three colors. “All is on schedule,” he said. He noted that his grower in the Rio Grande Valley and Winter Garden has a 70 percent reduction in acreage this year due to the water shortage the area is facing.
New Mexico:
James Johnson with Carzalia Valley Produce in Columbus said New Mexico is on course for a very good year. “New Mexico probably has the best short-day crop ever in the ground now. Planting conditions were ideal, and I don’t think anyone had issues with emergence.” He added, “That being said, as good as it is here I’ve heard of at least one significant grower in Chihuahua that won’t be exporting next year.” James went on to say, “I know there are some growers nervous about Tariffs but most of them think it’ll pass before they start harvesting.”