MARKET
California/Georgia:
Jason Pearson with Eagle Eye Produce, in Nyssa, OR, weighed in on May 17 saying, “Demand is very good this week. We are shipping onions out of California and Georgia. Onions out of Georgia are very tight, but our grower in California is in full swing, shipping all colors and sizes. On the bigger sizes, colossals and supers, supplies are tight.” On the market, Jason said it’s increasing. “The market is inching up, and that’s very good for our growers. Some of it has to do with the Memorial Day pull, and some has to do with Texas finishing and the lack of availability of quality onions, particularly in larger sizes. The quality we’re shipping is great!” Jason noted that transportation isn’t an issue this week. “If you want a truck, you can definitely find one, so no worries there.”
Winter Garden, TX:
David DeBerry with Southwest Onion Growers in McAllen told us on May 16 the Eagle Pass/ Coahuila deal is running full steam. “We’ve had to dodge and deal with some small showers on both sides of the border,” David said. “The result has been a slightly slower start, but we’re back to full speed on all three colors. Demand is very good on pretty much all colors and sizes.”
Mexico/Texas/Arizona/Georgia/California:
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID, told us on May 17 that his team is having a good week. “Demand is good,” Rick said. “Buyers are looking for retail stuff – mediums and pre-packs – and larger onions too, colossals. We are moving product from a variety of areas. We have been moving Texas onions, but they’re finishing. We have Vidalias, but they’re tight with some issues they’ve had, and California is just now really ramping up.” He continued, “We have Mexico product crossing through New Mexico, and we have Arizona going. Without New Mexico in it until about June 10, the market is strong and steady, and there is enough pressure that it should stay that way for at least another three weeks. My recommendation is plan ahead and stay ahead.” Rick told us that transportation is good, but offered a reminder that this week is DOT week so rates may be higher. “DOT week keeps some trucks off the road because they don’t want to get cited for little stuff that they don’t normally get in trouble for. So you might not have as many trucks on the road,” he said. “This could cause a rate increase, and you might need to watch for it.”
Chihuahua, MX:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, told us on May 17, “We finished S. Texas today, and Chihuahua is progressing nicely. Quality is great, and size is moving to higher percentage of jumbos. The appearance is awesome.”
Vidalia:
Steve Shuman with Steve Shuman with G&R Farms in Glennville updated us on May 13, saying, “G&R Farms in Glennville updated us on May 13, saying,” G& R Farms has been blessed with excellent harvesting weather of our Vidalia Sweet Onions, Certified Organic Vidalias, and our Red Sweet Onion crop. Field yields have been above normal with excellent sizing of jumbo and a high percentage of colossal.” He continued, “The harvest is due to end on time in mid-May, and movement is steady both to retail and into storage for our summer sales program. We added some newer Vidalia approved varieties to our portfolio this year, and the look, flavor and quality of these have been outstanding. And we have ample supply to last through the summer.” Steve added, “G&R was very fortunate to have another great year with organic quality, and shipments will begin moving the second week of May and throughout the summer while supplies last. Our Red Sweet Onion program performed really well, the internal color has developed nicely (hard to do with reds). We are excited to get these in stores and on our customers’ tables!”
Bronx, NY:
Lou Getzelman with Canyon Sales Co. on the Hunts Point Market gave us a solid update on May 17, saying, “This week we are shipping onions out of New York, Georgia, Texas, California and North Carolina.” Lou said, “There doesn’t seem to me much in Idaho yellow-wise, but we did still pull some jumbo reds from there this week, and quality remains consistently good.” He added, “The Vidalia crop is in full swing, but California still seems to be a bit behind. There are onions there, and they are coming, but I think it really won’t be until next week until we start rocking and rolling.” Demand, Lou said, “has been solid this week, and there is a definite premium being placing on quality onions.” He said, “It seems like we’ve turned the corner, and we’re starting to see some action in the onion market. I expect all colors and retail packages to continue to rise over the coming weeks as old crop completely gets out of the way and we move into new.” Lou said as far as the transition, “This week was particularly challenging, there’s still not a lot of onions available in California. And it is also DOT week – that is not a good combination! This has definitely been one of the more challenging freight weeks that we have had this season.” He said quality has “been good here on the East Coast with the onions making the short trip. It’s tough to say how quality has been out of California starting out; there’s just not a lot around in New York. As we move into next week, we really expect volume to make a big jump, and we’re looking forward to it!”
Wisconsin:
Doug Bulgrin with Gumz Farms in Endeavor gave us his report on May 17. “Everything’s good at Gumz Farms this week,” he said. “The sun is shining, and we’re shipping onions like crazy! We are moving quite a few medium and jumbo yellows, and we’re pulling them out of cold storage. The quality is the best I’ve seen in a long time, and because of the challenges some shippers are having in other areas, demand for quality product is extremely high, and we are very busy. The market reflects that too, and it’s on the rise.” Doug continued, “We’re in a good spot because we should be shipping until July.” Doug commented on the Gumz shed improvements. “We have a lot going on here at Gumz,” he said. “We just broke ground on our new building, and we’ll have more information to share on that later. And we’ve been planting heavily, and everything is in the ground and looking great!” Doug also offered some comments on the upcoming summer NOA convention. “Members of the NOA are looking forward to the Grand Rapids meeting,” he said. “We’ll have some valuable food safety information provided and a field tour that includes an automated weed control system, but honestly the networking alone is worth the trip.”
Organic Onions:
Brad Sumner with Pacific Coast Trading in Portland told us on May 17 that he’s shipping primarily out of California and Mexico now. “There are very few organic onions left in the Northwest, and we have finished our crop out of there. Mexico and the Imperial Valley have fired up, and we are shipping out of those two areas now,” Brad said. He added, “Our supplier in Georgia just started a few Organic Vidalia Sweets last week. The California crop is in full swing along with Mexico, and more volume will arrive next week.” He noted that demand is good, saying, “I am having more trouble getting onions across the border and delivered.” And, Brad said, “For some reason, we are using a lot more red onions this season. There’s definitely more demand on that there for us.” When asked about a Memorial Day pull, Brad said, “Actually, we got a few smaller chains to bite on some sweet onions for Memorial Day, and that tripled our volume.” The market, he said, “seems to be steady.” Brad said, “New crop organic suppliers are trying to push the market up. That will be a little easier with the Northwest out of the way. The Northwest to California/Mexico transition is never smooth. The early day variety onions are always rough, and there is quite a seed stem problem this year.” He went on to say, “The quality on organic onions out of California and Mexico has been hit and miss. The earlier regions of Mexico Quatla and Tampico actually sent us some decent quality and appearance onions for the time slot. We all know how ugly some of those onions can be. The first product out of California is rough, but later varieties are coming off now and quality should improve.” On transportation, Brad said, “Rates for trucks coming out Imperial Valley to LA are the highest I have seen. Also, trucking up onions from there to our Portland and Kent warehouse is slowly but steadily rising. It hurts the margins.”
CROP
New Mexico:
Jason Pearson with Eagle Eye Produce in Nyssa, OR, told us on May 17 that his company will start shipping out of New Mexico on June 1. “Everything is looking good for our New Mexico deal,” Jason said. “We are all set to start shipping on June 1. The crop is coming along, and the onions look to be sizing up nicely.”
Colorado Western Slope/Corinne, UT:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, told us on May 16 that his Colorado and Utah onion deals are going well after growers had a slow planting start due to weather. “Colorado and Utah growing as planned,” he said. Colorado will start around Labor Day, and Utah ships in late fall/early winter.
Walla Walla:
Michael Locati with Locati Farms and Pacific Agra Farms said on May 16 the Walla Walla region had been seeing higher temps recently. “Things are good,” he reported, adding, “We’ve been going through a bit of a warm May.” Michael had said earlier in the month a mid-June start could happen.
