Featured image: New Zealand red onions, photos courtesy of Mike Blake with New Zealand Onion Company.
MARKET
Idaho-E. Oregon
Dwayne Fisher with Champion Produce in Parma, ID, reported in on February 14. “When everything is coming from American Soils, it’s good for the American Growers!” Dwayne said. “Returns to our farms and growers the second half of this season have demonstrated that. Demand has been outstanding, and we are moving rapidly to the finish line. Our Utah production finished up today and our Idaho production looks on track to be done 3 weeks early of our normal ending window.” He continued, “The market is extremely solid and there is room for it to strengthen more as we move to the end of the month with no outside influences. Per pound, onions are still a very cheap staple in the vegetable category. It is crazy to think Mexican growers are getting more domestically for their onions than we are domestically. Everything points to a very strong finish for the season.” Dwayne concluded his report by saying, “Contract prices for next year will be up given our expenses for this coming year’s crop. I know lots of people are calling now trying to lock up production for next year, the message is the same, its going to cost more.”
Chris Woo provided an update on Treasure Valley on February 14. “Onion buyers, growers, and shippers have had anxiety regarding this high priced onion market,” Chris said. “The market turned for the better before Xmas when Mexico realized their crop was set back by hurricane. They became heavy onion users and buyers, not suppliers of onions. This has become the new norm.” He continued, “Pricing has gone up 5-10% every week. Present fob’s are at a 10 year high and the way it’s going it’s looking to break all time historically highs. People are hysterically eating more onions and with this increase in demand, we have been depleting domestic storage onions at a rapid pace of production. With this being said where will the next wave of fresh production come from? California is more than a few months away. In the near future the big question is… Will Mexico start crossing any volume to help make up our shortfall and if so will they keep their crop if any in country for their own use. We shall see until then.”
Idaho-E. Oregon/Washington:
Jason Pearson with Eagle Eye Produce in Nyssa, OR, told us on February 14, “Demand is good this week and we are busy,” Jason said, “Demand is steady with jumbo yellows and reds moving well, with whites tight (of course), and medium reds and yellows tight as well. We do have good availability that will take us to a smooth transition to our Texas deal that will start mid-March and then we’ll start our California onions in April. We are set up really well, and our crops in Texas and California look great.” On the market, Jason noted, “We continue to see the market move upward, and we are very happy for our growers.” Jason commented on transportation. “If you want a truck, it’s easy to find one.”
Washington
Matt Murphy with L&M Cos. in Raleigh, NC, provided his report on February 14. “Demand is good this week, and we are humming right along,” Matt said. “Pretty much every Wednesday, we are sold out. At this point, we are reserving whites for our contract business, but we still have open reds and yellows that will take us through April until we transition to our Calipatria, CA deal.” Matt commented on the market, “The market is holding strong with the potential to increase, so we’re in a good spot.”
Idaho/Washington/Oregon/Utah:
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID provided his report on February 14. “We are shipping out of Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Utah,“ Rick said. “I will say, I’m not shipping any Mexican onions; if there are some out there, there are not many. Mexico is still buying U.S. onions and selling them for more in-country, so there isn’t much of a reason to bring them across right now. Overall, demand is steady this week. Buyers are looking for all sizes and colors.” On the market, Rick said, “The market is strong, but it should be much higher. Most shippers are sold out by Wednesday of each week, and of course, there are several reasons for the shortage of open onions. Still, when there are so many onions over-contracted, it stymies the fast market increases. Sooner or later, the storage onion contracts will wind down, and I think that’s when we’ll see another spike in the market.” Rick also commented on freight, saying, “Plenty of trucks are available, so come and get ‘em. We also have boilers and pearls, and we’ll have Texas onions in about four weeks.”
Bronx, NY:
Lou Getzelman with Canyon Sales Co. on the Hunts Point Market told us on February 14, “Things are steady this week, I don’t think it’s overly busy though,” Lou said. “There’s some stability in the market. Overall, the demand is still good for jumbo yellow, but perhaps we’ve hit a resistance point, albeit could be temporary? Wholesalers are selling jumbo yellows for $30 in New York, it’s expected that there’s going to be some push back at that level.” He continued, “Medium reds are still fairly tight and I have relatively the same story on whites, there’s not many around, but we have seen some expensive ones start to cross from Mexico. I think we’ll see more next week out of Mexico on all colors, but how much volume and how much of an impact it will actually have remains to be seen. Mexico is still pulling a good amount from the US. We don’t really ever know what’s going on in Mexico until Mexico actually gets going full steam, so we will see. Retail packages are expensive in NY due to short supplies of medium yellows in New York and Canada, and I think we’re going to continue to see a rise in the yellow retail package over the next couple of weeks as things tighten up some more.” On transportation, Lou said, “Trucks are probably the lowest that I’ve seen all season heading back east, so that’s a big plus!
Tampico, Mexico:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said on February 14, “We’re still waiting but thinking we might see some onions by the week of Feb. 26, and by the first of March things should be rolling pretty good.” Don Ed said the market in Mexico is “hotter than a pistol now,” and he said the deal looks like it’s going to be good. He said it will start with onions, followed by reds a few days later and whites a couple of weeks later. Mexico is expected to run into mid-April, and Texas will run into mid-May. The delay in Mexico, he said, is compacting the season a bit.
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen, TX, told us on F February 14 that he, too, continues to wait on loads out of the Tampico growing region. The delay, which David said could go another couple of weeks, has multiple causes: Late planting due to lack of water, cool weather, and the strong market in Mexico that is keeping onions there. David said, “It’s a broken record here. No change — nothing crossing up from Mexico due to high market in Mexico. There’s nothing expected before March.”
CROP
Texas Rio Grande Valley:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco told us on Feb. 14 his 1015 deal should kick off between March 5-18. “It’s been cool enough that everything is running a little later. There’s rain in the forecast,” he said, adding, “It’s been very dry, and if it does rain, it will really help the onions grow. With Mexico running later, a rain in Texas now would be well-timed.”
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen, said on Feb. 14 the Rio Grande Valley crop is looking good. He said, “The Texas crop progressing well and on time for late March start.”
California:
Matt Murphy with L&M Cos. in Raleigh, NC, provided his California report on February 14. “Everything is looking good,” Matt said. “We had some rain last week, but you know that’s good, and the onions are coming right along. We are looking for a smooth transition from our Warden deal to Calipatria, CA.”
