Featured image: Hand harvest of 2023 Walla Walla, WA Sweet Onion crop, photo courtesy of Dan Borer with Keystone Fruit Marketing in Walla Walla, WA
MARKET
Central Valley, CA/New Mexico:
Jason Pearson with Eagle Eye Produce in Nyssa, OR, provided his report on June 21. “We have been very busy this week,” he said. “We are moving yellows and reds out of the Central Valley of California and all colors and sizes out of New Mexico. The quality out of both areas is excellent, and we haven’t had any issues whatsoever from either.” Jason added, “Demand is good this week, and buyers are now starting the pull for the July 4th holiday. Demand is across the board, but demand for medium and jumbo yellows and jumbo reds is brisk. The market remains steady and is sitting about where it has been for the last couple of weeks.” On transportation, Jason said some lanes have tightened up. “We have seen some tightening up, but if we need a truck, we can definitely find one,” he said. Jason concluded his report with a message about the upcoming Independence Day holiday. “Remember, consumers are looking for sauteed onions for those burgers and diced onions for potato salads and other sides, so don’t wait; come and get ‘em!”
Walla Walla/California/Georgia:
Dan Borer with Keystone Fruit Marketing in Walla Walla, WA, told us on June 21 that his company has had a good start to its Walla Walla program. “We started shipping last week,” Dan said. “Customers have responded well, and they are excited to bring in the Walla Walla product. We have plenty of volume out of the gate to cover the 4th of July pull.” He continued, “We have the normal-size profile this season with a good amount of colossal and jumbo profiles and medium sizes. And consumer packs are selling like hotcakes! We had a good growing season, and the quality is very good. So the boat is off and sailing there.” Dan also said, “We are using California Central Valley for supplements, and we also have Georgia storage in the game.” Many thanks to Dan for sending in Walla Walla Sweet hand harvest shots this week. Click the image to enlarge.
California/New Mexico/Texas:
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID, told us on June 2 that he is shipping out of the Central Valley in California as well as New Mexico, and he said some Mexican onions are crossing through Texas this week as well. “Buyers are mostly looking for the retail stuff this week, and medium reds are very tight. If you’re in need, plan far in advance. We haven’t seen a big pull start for the Fourth yet, and that is a little worrisome because it could be a bit rough if this is the calm before the storm.” Rick went on to say, “We have California veg starting to roll on freight and that could tighten up the truck availability. And if orders for the holiday start coming in all at once, it could get a little chaotic.” When asked about the market, Rick said it’s soft. “The market feels a little soft today, but that could change in the next 48 to 72 hours,” he said. “I honestly don’t see it staying that way for long. Seriously.”
New Mexico/Chihuahua, Mexico:
James Johnson with Carzalia Valley Produce in Columbus told us on June 21 that the New Mexico season is “steady as she goes.” He said, “We’ve had pretty excellent weather so far for harvest – yesterday was our first day right at 100 degrees.” Looking at movement, James said, “Reds seem to be getting tight in New Mexico. Size right now is great and yields have been big. Rumors are the spring crop might not be as big as we are used to in the state so we will see how hard supers and colossal are to come by here in two or three weeks.” On the Mexico side, James said, “Chihuahua is finished up with most of the short days, and a few have started intermediates.”
Bronx, NY:
Lou Getzelman with Canyon Sales Co. on the Hunts Point Market reported to us on June 21, saying, “Demand continued to tick downward a bit this week after we saw many of our customers sit tight late last week/early in this week hoping for some better pricing – and seems it’s there now.” Lou continued, “It’s been slow for everyone, and the weather in the NE has not helped the cause. We have had pretty poor weather thus far in June, and things do not look much better this weekend and even heading into next week.” But, he added, “The red onion market has held up, however, and we are seeing much of the old crop cleaned up. Good red onions were certainly at a premium the past week.” Lou noted, “With the San Joaquin Valley getting started this week, that added more supply to a relatively stale jumbo yellow market; they need to move that pile so we aren’t expecting any increases in the yellow market, and that market should stabilize for the time being, although we do expect volatility in July. The jumbo white market is also relatively stable right now, and the really premium jumbo whites are tight. Quality has looked good out of Central California and New Mexico – no complaints there.” As far as transportation, Lou said, it “remains fairly easy and isn’t expected to change.” And he concluded, “Hopefully we get some better weather soon and we see some pent-up demand leading into 4th of July!”
CROP
Northwest/Peru:
Dan Borer with Keystone Fruit Marketing in Walla Walla, WA, told us on June 21 that the transplants and direct-seeded onion crops in his area look very good. “We had some very good growing weather, and the crops are coming along nicely. We’ll have to see how the progress continues, but some fields may be ready to go as early as the first week in August. We’ll just have to wait and see.” Dan added that Keystone’s Peru deal should get started in the next two to three weeks. “Some of our people have been down to look at the Peruvian crop, and it looks very nice,” he said. “We anticipate starting up, at least for our East Coast customers, in the next two to three weeks.”
