MARKET
Washington/Oregon/Peru/Mexico:
Dan Borer with Keystone Fruit Marketing reported in on Feb. 8 from his Walla Walla, WA, sales office, saying that sales are starting to pick up in February. “Sales in January weren’t as strong as pre-Christmas, but they are starting to pick back up,” he said. “We are still selling Northwest storage onions and sweets, as well as Peruvian sweets, and our Mexican program is ramping up with all colors and sizes, plus sweets in with more volume. Our Peruvian deal is nearly finished up on the West Coast, but we are still shipping in the East that will go through the month.” Dan continued, “Customers are looking to buy more sweets coming out of Mexico now that there is much more volume available, and the onions coming out of Mexico look very good. Where Vidalia is concerned, we haven’t heard about a start date there, so we will continue with sweets out of the Northwest and Mexico and wait and see what happens with Vidalia and look for what happens with the Texas crop as well.” On the market, Dan said it is holding steady. “There hasn’t been any big event to cause a significant change in the market, but each shipper has their own decisions to make whether or not they need to slow down the pace and manage supplies or step up the pace to finish up and that’s where you might see some deals. But that’s going to be an individual decision and not indicative of the overall market. The bottom line is we are pretty positive going forward.” He added, “Demand is picking up, and quality onions are moving. Plus, we’re living in a pretty darn good place. We could be living in Russia, where food isn’t plentiful, or North Korea, where guns and bombs are more important than food. So we’re pretty lucky, I’d say.”
Idaho-E. Oregon:
Dan Phillips with Central Produce/Eagle Eye in Payette, ID, told us on Feb. 8 that demand is slightly off this week. “Maybe everyone already has their Super Bowl onions, but demand is a little off this week,” he said. “Buyers are looking for the big onions like colossal, but that has a lot to do with the fact that it’s been tight for big onions. Market-wise, it’s softened somewhat. I wish I knew why. I mean, there are a lot of areas shipping, and that could have something to do with it, but, oddly, the market is off a little bit.” On transportation, Dan said, it’s good. “We had been seeing orders held over due to the shortage in trucks, but we haven’t seen that in a while,” he said. “It’s definitely been easier to get trucks.”
Paul Reeping with Riverfront Produce in Payette, ID, told us on Feb. 8 that demand is off for smaller onions this week. “Demand for anything less than 3 1/2 in size is off this week,” he said. “Demand for onions 3 1/2 and larger is still seeing good demand.” On the market, Paul said, there is some confusion. “Smaller jumbos have been going for lower prices out there and it’s creating confusion on the market, causing problems for large jumbos right now,” he said. “For us, we have good availability on all sizes of reds, and good availability of yellows, but we are selling out of larger yellows nearly every day, so availability of larger stuff on yellows is tight.” Paul added, “We would like to see colder weather hold for our storages so we can keep the good quality we’ve been getting.” On transportation, Paul said, “Transportation has been just fine. No issues there.”
Joshua Frederick with Snake River Produce in Nyssa, OR, told us on Feb. 8, it has been a time of crazy weather, but he added the previous evening was a spirit-lifter. “It was good to see the folks last night at the annual Certified Onion Banquet and Dinner,” Josh said, adding “a big thank you to the Department of Agriculture and Kay Riley for getting that put together with a great meal and fellowship.” Looking at the onion market this week, he said, “As far as things in the valley, it’s been steady but nothing to write home about. Market is all over the map. Good BIG onions are worth good money still for the right customers that prefer quality and size over price – and then small onions are selling like hot cakes with the difference in price structure on medium yellows versus a 3-inch jumbo.” Josh went on to say, “We are keeping the floor clean and are going to just keep running steady until we get to the finish line. which is looking mid-March at the moment.” He said, “This economy has everyone thrown for a loop and after seeing the February National Onion Report, I believe there are onions around to offset the rumors of the short crop that was mentioned all year. It’s hard to believe what’s actually left for open market verses contracted through April. I along with most know the true cost it took to grow last year’s crop, and we are now market-wise way under that number so hopefully things will turn around and push back up and finish as strong as the season started. If not next seasons predictions of what it will take to grow moving forward could become discussion at the coffee shop.” He concluded, “We appreciate everyone in this industry and will just keep our heads down and fight the fight to survive. Have a great week and to Onion Business we appreciate all you do for us sheds and farmers. Until next time…keep praying for the Farmer!”
Tampico, Mexico:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, told us on Feb. 8 he expects to have big volume starting next week on onions from Tampico. “We have supplies out of Mexico in all sizes and colors, but not in big volume yet,” Don Ed said, adding, “Quality is very good.”
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen, TX, said on Feb. 8 supplies out of Mexico had slowed for a few days recently, but he added, “The market on balance is steady. More and more areas are changing to new crop, and all the early guys are going now. Quality overall for everything is above average, and the crop in Mexico is made. It’s not finished, but it’s made, and we have all sizes and colors.” He went on to say, “There’s a lot of export demand in Mexico for Europe. It’s into the hundreds of loads now.”
Bronx, NY:
Lou Getzelman with Canyon Sales Co. on the Hunts Point Market in New York told us on Jan 8 that demand this week “is really no better than last, which wasn’t very strong.” Lou added, “Being boots-on-the-ground here in the Hunts Point Market, we can say with confidence that this is not unique to the onion world. Demand in general across all items is down. This is a supply and demand business, and when demand dips, inventory starts to build on the market, and that can happen pretty quickly. Buyers see that and they inherently buy less.” He said he’s selling onions now from Idaho, Washington and New York and noted, “We have just started out of Mexico.” Lou said, “Customers are still looking for the big sizes on yellows, and they’re not easy to come by, but as Mexico gets more involved that will likely change. There are deals to be had on red onions right now, jumbos and mediums are both off a touch.” Quality on what he’s shipping, he said, “has been excellent, when you factor that in along with a cheap truck, it’s really been a huge win for the customers. Jumbo whites are coming off as well, and that is a function of some deals coming out of Mexico. ” He went on to say, “Market started out a bit softer again this week, shippers out West are in a bit of a predicament right now. Shippers need to balance and prioritize finishing up when they planned, new crop onions crossing, and the fact that there is not a ton of business out there. This is not easy to do, and our focus has been providing our partners with good, reliable information in regard to what is and isn’t moving and the prices we think we need to be.” As for quality, Lou said it has been “excellent for the majority of this season, and what we’re seeing early out of Mexico is more of the same.” Looking at transportation, he said, “Good news here! It’s more of the same from last week, trucks are super cheap, and you can get them wherever you need them.”
CROP
Texas: Rio Grande Valley:
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen told us on Feb. 8, “After a week of below-normal temps I don’t think we’ll start as early as last year with our crop. Our volume will likely be a week to 10 days behind what it was in 2022.”
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco said on Feb. 8 said the RGV crop is coming along well, and he said cooler temps this week “aren’t bad.” Don Ed added, “The crop is progressing nicely, and the weather has been pretty normal for the time of year.”
