Featured image: Idaho onions ready for packing. Photo credit: Onionbusiness.com
MARKET
Colorado Western Slope/Corinne, UT:
Chuck Hill with The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, told us on October 16 that the market seems slower this week, with demand not as brisk. “I don’t feel the love,” Chuck quipped. He said, “It just feels a little sluggish to me, but we’re still moving all three colors, and quality is outstanding from our Olathe grower.” Chuck said the Corinne crop will start shipping next week, and both areas traditionally run through the holidays.
Washington/Colorado/Kansas:
Hayden Bingham with L&M Cos. in Raleigh, NC, told us on October 16, “We are wrapping up our programs in Rocky Ford, CO, and Ulysses, KS,” Hayden said. “Rocky Ford will finish in the next 4 to 5 days, and Kansas is close behind. We are shipping all colors out of Warden, WA. This week, demand has been somewhat slow. It’s tradeshow week with IFPA, so it’s no surprise that demand has slowed down, but there are a lot of onions out there too. We are still very busy with our program business.” Hayden continued on the market. “The red market is still hanging in there, and the white market actually got a little lift, so that’s encouraging. The yellow market is about as low as it’s going to get. Now that there are enough onions with enough size out there, we think the holidays will help push the market back up.” Hayden also commented on freight this week. “Honestly, trucks are getting tricky,” Hayden said. “With flatbeds getting harder to load and with it being harder to get trucks into the southeastern customers, it’s getting more difficult. We can get trucks, but they are getting pricey.”
Wisconsin:
Doug Bulgrin with Gumz Farms in Endeavor provided his report on October 16. “Harvest is complete,” Doug said. “We are down on our yields this season, so we are servicing our regular customers and that’s going well. We don’t have to go out and look for a lot of new business. Demand has been good this week. There is quite a bit of demand for medium yellows.” Doug also commented on the market. “The market has been steady, although, there are some deals out there. A lot of that has to do with shippers needing to sell what they can’t put in storage and needing to move what’s on the floor. We anticipate when all of that gets cleared out, the market will increase.” Doug also mentioned transportation. “We really haven’t had any issues getting trucks at all.” OnionBusiness also wants to mention that the Gumz Farms crew is attending IFPA this week, so be sure to connect with them on the show floor!
Northwest/Peru:
Dan Borer with Keystone Fruit Marketing reported in on October 16 from his Walla Walla, WA sales office. “We are all finished up with harvest with our Northwest hybrids,” Dan said. “Most of our neighbors are finished as well. And it’s a good thing as it looks like we are seeing a change in weather coming on. There is a chance of snowfall ahead in the mountains, but it looks like everyone has everything in the barn, for the most part.” Dan continued on demand and the market. “Movement is not bad, but it’s pretty typical. That should change going into the holidays. We are seeing pre-COVID pricing on yellows. Reds are in there at good prices. Overall, the market has settled down for now.” Dan also talked about Keystone’s Peruvian imports. “We thought the strike would impact the import market, but we really never skipped a beat. Loading wasn’t delayed and the packing stateside didn’t stop,” Dan said. “Quality continues to look very good.” Dan also mentioned the Northwest Sweet program. “I should note that we have had good success with our local Northwest Sweets,” he said. “The local markets for those have been very good and customers have responded very well to buying local.”
Organic Onions:
Brad Sumner with Pacific Coast Trading Co. in Portland provided his report on October 16. “Fall back to organic onions,” Brad said. “The storage crop of beautiful organic onions is tucked away across the country. Supplies appear ample, quality is good, and the outlook remains steady. Regular demand against regular supply.” He continued, Market is sliding a bit as reds are coming down to regular seasonal pricing, whites remain the same and we are experiencing a decline in the yellow and sweet markets. Nothing crazy, just some settling as shippers get into normal business patterns and calculate how long they can go. So, when a few extra onions show up, lowering the price seems the best option for some. Medium yellow onions seem to be the tight spot, which seems common. I am often baffled when I ask our growers to plant in tighter rows to make a few more mediums and they question it. There are times mediums are as much if not more valuable than jumbos. I understand about “good yields” but creating more opportunities for better marketing seems better.” On transportation, he also noted, “Transportation seems very normal for us this year and I hope all who are going enjoy the IFPA without me.”
Idaho/Washington/Oregon/Utah/Michigan:
Rick Greener with Greener Produce in Ketchum, ID provided his report on October 16 saying, “It was good at the start of this week,“ Rick said. “It will probably trickle off due to the IFPA Show. Currently, we are shipping onions out of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Michigan. Quality continues to be great. Demand has been everything from large onions to consumers and in all colors.” Rick also commented on the market. “The market on reds is strong, and at the same time, I really don’t understand why the red market isn’t higher. There is definitely room. Mexico is taking reds and whites and we are getting inquiries from other export locations too. We just need more export movement on yellows to help this pricing, right? Whites have tightened a bit so there may be room for a market increase there. I guess you could say, the yellow market is steady, with spot buys. Shippers are looking to get rid of stuff they can’t store. The other thing to watch for is production. Things have changed regarding how shippers are running pack-outs. It’s not like you can get a load of whatever you want any day of the week. One day, they may be packing only reds. Another day, it’s only whites and consumers. You just never know. It pays, to get on track with the production schedule and plan accordingly… as best as you can.” On transportation, Rick said, “Reefers are getting snug and the weather is starting to change. Loading flatbeds can be rough. Watch the weather closely.” He concluded his report by saying, “Remember, we have new crop Idaho boilers, Cipollinis, and pearls, so come and get ‘em!”
Idaho-E. Oregon
Chris Woo reported to us on October 16, saying, “Onion harvest is wrapping up,” Chris said. “Sugar beet gathering is just beginning. We have a few cabooses of onion fields to pick up what’s left, which isn’t much. Onion harvest this season was a little later than normal. We’re not in any rush and you can tell. The quality, sizing, and appearance are great. Waiting was worth it. This year’s crop is being put away. It’s one of the nicest crops I’ve seen in a long time.” He added, “Onion pricing remains steady and demand is fairly moderate. With that being said, a lot of our buyers are at the food show in Atlanta this week. They will be educated on what is trending onion-wise and hopefully, everyone will come back with good attitudes and be ready to make additional purchases for this high-quality merchandise at these reasonable prices.”
