IEO:
Chris Woo at Murakami Produce in Ontario, OR, said movement has been steady, and the market seems to be holding at $10-$11 dollars on jumbo yellows. “This is reasonable pricing for this time of year, and it provides a good return back to our growers. We are happy about that,” Chris said. “In March, we see more opportunities for an upswing and the market opening up. And in terms of quality, what is going in the bag is great!”
In Payette, ID, Dan Phillips of Central Produce Distributing told OnionBusiness.com that this week “the market has weakened a bit on yellows, but there has been a huge demand for whites and reds. Whites have been in such demand that the company completely sold out on Tuesday.” Dan also said the minor weakening in the yellow market hasn’t had much of an impact on Central because they are managing supplies to stay on target for a mid-March finish. “We are accustomed to this slow down, which we at Central call ‘the dog days of January.’ We fully expect the market to increase in the coming weeks.”
Utah:
Don Ed Holmes from Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said his Utah deal in on track to wrap up the week of Feb. 15.
Mexico:
Don Ed Holmes told OnionBusiness.com the market in Mexico continues to be “very good,” but he added that volume out of that country hasn’t hit big numbers yet. “We thought it would be around Feb. 15, but we think now it might be the week of Feb. 22 before we get heavy volume,” he said.
Overall market conditions are “fair,” he said, noting that some lots out of the West are being sold at “bargain prices, which makes for a nervous market.” He said the market will “take off like a rocket at some point, though.”
Asian Exports:
OnionBusiness.com spoke with Asian export brokers who told us that exports have suffered dramatically this year, in some cases falling off by 60-70 percent. They told us while there is some movement to Taiwan on yellows, there is no movement to report for exports to report heading to Asia. Our sources said because Japan had a huge onion crop this year and the dollar has been so strong, it doesn’t leave much room for U.S. exports to Asian markets. An additional factor cited for the export slowdown is the issues brought about by the port slowdown last year.
