MARKET
Oregon
Trish Lovell with Curry & Co. in Brooks told us Oct. 11 that Curry is shipping out of its facility in Brooks now. She said, “We are done with storage, and demand has been very good.” Trish went on to say that Curry is packing and shipping yellows, sweets and reds, and she said pricing has been steady with no changes. “Prices have remained high for quite some time,” she said. And she said transportation is “still a key issue.”
Oregon/Columbia Basin:
Stefan Matheny with River Point Farms in Hermiston reported to OnionBusiness on Oct. 11 that River Point is done with harvest. “We completed harvest last night,” Stefan said. “We are all pretty excited to get everything in the barn.” Stefan said that River Point’s crop is considered average compared to past years. “The crop has a good size profile, and the quality is very good. We are into our storage varieties now and will be shipping those for the balance of the season. Their quality looks really nice,” he said. “Demand dipped a little at the first of the week but has picked back up. We slowed just a little due to Canadian Thanksgiving on Oct. 9, but demand is back up now.” Stefan added, “The good thing is that demand is equal across the board on size and color both.” He said the market is steady, and he noted, “Things are looking good where the market is concerned. It’s been holding for several weeks, and we don’t see any reduction going forward.”
Washington:
Larry Denke with Agri-Pack in Pasco said yields are down slightly this year from last year, but he qualified the statement with, “Last year was phenomenal.” Size profiles are “a little smaller than last year as well, but we do have some jumbos. I’d call it a normal crop, really. We have a good supply of jumbos and mediums in our Delgados, and our Legends are about 50/50.” Larry said reds are down in size, running to small mediums, and the whites sized up normally this year. He said, “We’re seeing good demand for all three colors right now.” Larry also said trucks had loosened up this week. And he said the market has stayed steady. As for the upcoming holidays, he said, “We expect demand to be good for everything. There’s a good spread between jumbos and mediums on price, and I think we’ll see the price on mediums come up as we move forward. There could be fewer jumbos on the open market as contracts are met, and it could be harder to get them.”
Idaho-Eastern Oregon:
Dan Phillips with Central Produce Distributing Inc. in Payette, ID, reported to OnionBusiness.com on Oct. 11 that harvest would wrap up “this evening.” He said, “It’s been nerve-wracking with nights getting colder and colder. Fortunately, we have a great crew that’s been working long hours to get everything in. We are definitely going to feel a whole lot better when harvest is completed.” Dan said yields are down. “Our yields are down, particularly in larger sizes, but that is common valley-wide. The bottom line is there are going to be fewer onions, and the market reflects that.” He also said demand has been very good across the board. “Of course, everyone wants jumbo yellows, but really reds and whites are moving well too,” Dan said. “The market is steady. With harvest complete, good availability and decent prices, we feel like we’re in a really good place right now.”
Chris Woo with Baker & Murakami Produce Co. in Ontario, OR, told us that as of Oct. 11 the operation is 80 percent complete on harvest. “We expect to have everything in by the weekend,” Chris said. “Our growers are working long hours under what I would consider pristine fall weather conditions. And the quality of the onions coming in is absolutely beautiful! Our growers have done an excellent job.” Chris also said that demand is good across all sizes and colors. “Of course, demand is higher on jumbos and larger,” he said. He said the market is holding steady. “We usually don’t see pricing this good at this time of year. And the best part is, we don’t anticipate pricing to lower,” he commented. Chris said Baker & Murakami is looking forward to PMA Fresh Summit in New Orleans. “We will be there in force this year. We have four people from our outfit going so we can cover our own booth and help in the Potandon and the Idaho-Oregon Committee booth,” he said. Baker & Murakami is in Booth, 4540, and Chris invited everyone to stop by.
Herb Haun with Haun Packing in Weiser, ID, reported demand has been very good across the board. “We’re seeing increased demand for jumbos across all three colors, but really everything is moving well,” he said. “On our end, we have purposely slowed up a bit so we can concentrate on harvest, and we should be done this weekend.” Herb said yields are down, adding, “We will probably be about 25 percent off from a normal year, which is going to be the case for a lot of sheds around here. We will finish harvest this weekend, and most of our end of the valley should be done as well.” Herb said the market is good. “The market is steady and holding, and I really don’t see it declining at all.”
Utah:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said all onions are in storage at the Corinne operation, and first loads will ship next Monday. “It’s a beautiful crop,” Don Ed said. “Heavy to jumbos with colossals and supers.”
Colorado Western Slope:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said the Olathe shed is running intermediates through next week, and he said, “It will take another week to 10 days to finish storing.” The crop is coming in with good size and quality. “So far, so good,” he said. Colorado saw some cold temps earlier in the week, and Don Ed said, “We just need to get them in.”
CROP
Texas Rio Grande Valley:
Don Ed Holmes with The Onion House in Weslaco said the Rio Grande Valley has been in a period of extended precipitation, and he noted, “The whole Valley is wet. Normally we start the first planting around Sept. 25 and have the crop in around Oct. 15. We don’t have anything in yet.” Don Ed said there’s been time lost on the front end of the crop, but he said the forecast is for better weather starting this weekend, and he added, “It won’t take us long to get it in once the weather gets nice.” He continued, “There are a few growers with some onions in, but yesterday some areas got four inches of rain in five hours. Some of the seed can wash out in those conditions. But we should still be in good shape if we get in next week.”
