MARKET
Colorado Western Slope/Utah:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said on Dec. 7 that both his Colorado and Corinne, UT, deals are still rocking along. “We’re running in both places. Colorado could finish before the first of January, and Utah will likely go into early January.” He said all colors and sizes are shipping, although he noted, “We’re getting close to being done with reds in both areas.” Don Ed said the market has been holding steady, but business has been “hot and cold.” He added, “We’re coming up on a really good Christmas pull, and this weekend and next week business should pick up. Business overall has been good all year, and we can’t complain.” Quality, he said, remains good.
Idaho-E. Oregon:
Dan Phillips with Eagle Eye/Central Produce reported in on Dec. 7 from his sales office in Payette, ID. “Demand is steady this week, and we are moving all that we need to,” he said. “Yellows and reds are moving well in all sizes, with the exception of medium reds. It seems like there are a lot of mediums reds out there, so demand is not super high.” Dan continued, “The market is steady and holding like it has been for several weeks now. This is all good, although there are shippers wondering why it isn’t increasing with short supplies.” On quality, Dan said EEP/Central’s is good. “We have had good quality all along, and it is holding up really well, and we’re pleased as we get further into our storage.” On transportation, Dan said it’s getting tight. “I have been looking at our shipping reports, and it looks like the holiday shipping and the Christmas trees are having an impact, and trucks are getting tight.”
Washington/Idaho-E. Oregon:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms reported in from his Salem, OR office on Dec. 7. “I am selling mostly out of Washington this week, but Wada as a whole is selling out of Washington and Idaho-Eastern Oregon.” He added, “Demand is good this week. Jumbo yellows seem to be the hot ticket, but as we get closer to Christmas, demand for medium yellows should start to increase as retailers bring in 16/3s. And John said, “The market is steady and holding. There is a little more variation in price in the Treasure Valley, it seems as opposed to Washington, but prices overall seem to be holding. The market is strong, and the feel for a price increase is better for this time of year than it has been for quite a while. This has might have something to do with weather and availability.” He continued, “On the weather side, we could see sheds running fewer days and fewer hours. Bringing onions to the shed to run is no simple task on icy roads, and shippers want to get workers home when roads are slick too. This all factors into how much production a shed is willing to put in, particularly in a year when growers don’t have as many onions as they normally have. All of this could have a positive impact on the market, and we could see an increase before Christmas, but an increase could definitely come post-Christmas when buyers return from vacation and need to fill empty shelves – at least for the first part of January. But the feeling about the market is very good.” John said, “We will have to keep an eye on New Zealand and Mexico and how many onions are available for US imports. How many acres did they plant? How did their growing season go? When are they going to start? We never can predict it, so it’s wait-and-see there. After that, there is Texas to consider.” On transportation, John said it’s been fairly easy. “I think with the railroad strike being averted, we are in better shape than we thought we’d be, and we’re sitting pretty good right now.”
International Market:
Stu Follen with SL Follen Company in Portland provided us with some interesting info on exports and foreign markets. “It’s been a rough year for ‘offshore’ onion exports,” Stu said. The U.S. dollar has been so strong and ocean rates also high. Add a fairly robust U.S. FOB price, and exports of U.S. onions are very low. We have been sourcing some onions from Europe because we can make it work where we cannot with US onions.” He added, “Ocean rates from Europe to Asia have crashed, but rates from U.S. West Coast to Asia are still really high.” And, Stu said, “The U.S. dollar is finally showing weakness, but it is going to be too late for this crop year.” Stu also was able to get a translation of a Chinese video for us that was provided by Robert Bell of Western Onion in Camarillo, CA. Stu said the video basically said, “Dongshi Township is one of the important production areas of onions, but recently some farmers have reported that the onion production may be in poor condition due to extreme weather and plant infectious diseases, causing losses to farmers. For this reason, Su Zhifen, a member of the Legislative Council, invited Chen Qirong, Secretary-General of the Agriculture and Food Administration, and many agricultural experts from the Tainan Agricultural Reform Field to conduct field surveys to understand the situation and causes of onion damage, and discuss related issues.” OnionBusiness.com has included the video below for our readers that speak Mandarin, and for those readers that would like to view the damage to the crop located in the Dongshi Township.
CROP
Vidalia, GA:
Danny Ray with Ray Farms Inc in Glennville, GA, told us on Dec. 7 that his family’s Vidalia crop is nearly all in. “We will finish planting tomorrow,” Danny said. “Just in time to enjoy Christmas with the family. We have unusually warm planting weather, which has been ideal. It has helped the crop get established before the cooler weather comes on. Really we have had excellent planting weather all along so we are in good shape and we are looking forward to having a good crop.”
Texas Rio Grande Valley/Tampico, Mexico:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said on Dec. 7 the crops in the Tampico, Mexico, region and in the Rio Grande Valley are both progressing, although recent cool weather might have slowed it somewhat. “It looks like mid-January for sweets out of Mexico,” Don Ed said. “South Texas is looking good. It’s been a little cooler than normal, too.”
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen, TX, told us on Dec. 7 he had spent a week in the Rio Grande Valley, and he said, “Both my producers have crops coming in on time, mid- to late March. The stands are fabulous right now.” Recent cool weather, he said, had put the crop “maybe a week behind in growth than this time last year.” He said, “We had a cooler-than-normal November with 17 or 18 straight days without sunshine. But it’s the February and March weather that really counts.” David continued, “And both growers have invested significantly in automation and quality control for more efficiency and higher quality output. They want to ship the right stuff.” David said the Tampico growing region in Mexico is “on time to maybe a little early. I heard of yellows from major producers that could be around the first week of January. Sweets will be the first to come in. And there are already some whites from central Mexico crossing.” David also said the Wintergarden crop will be completely in the ground by this week. That season runs in early May and June. Our thanks to David for the great photos. David is on the right in the Dec. 5 shots, and on the left is Dan Wetegrove of Charles Wetegrove Co, with “all new modern packing and palletizing machinery additions and in a field of early Texas red onions near Raymondville.”
