Mexico:
Dale DeBerry of AllVeg Sales in Boerne, TX, told OnionBusiness.com his Tampico grower is “at the peak of harvest,” and the onions coming through are “very good quality, and they’re big.” Dale said prices fell to $9 this week, but he added, “I foresee it coming back up early next week.” He’ll continue to move Mexican onions through the last week of April, he said.
Don Ed Holmes of The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, said on April 6 he would move his last load of Mexican onions on April 7.
Mike Davis of Tex-Mex in Weslaco said his company will finish up with the Mexico deal this week as well.
IEO:
Steve Baker at Baker Packing in Ontario, OR, reported that the market is off a bit this week. He said Baker Packing will finish shipping IEO onions at the end of next week. Currently Baker is packing onions out of cold storage, and the quality is “absolutely excellent,” Steve said. While Baker is shipping mostly yellows, Steve said some reds are still available.
Rio Grande Valley, TX:
The Onion House in Weslaco is “already one-third into our Texas crop,” according to Don Ed Holmes. “Quality and size are really good, and we’re still in the onions planted before the rain,” he said, referencing weather that hit in October and November 2015 and reduced yields in the Rio Grande Valley. “We’ll start with the onions planted after those rains next week, and we’ll see better yields,” he said. Don Ed said he’ll ship the sweet onions through April or early May. “What we’re looking at should finish up by the first week of May,” he said. Noting the reduced volume out of his area, Don Ed said California “might inherit a pretty good deal.”
At Tex-Mex Produce in Weslaco, Mike Davis said the company has been shipping 1015s and movement has been good. Tex-Mex packs retail, and Mike said customers have been happy with the new crop. Sizing and quality are looking very good, he said. Since the lull that came immediately after Easter, demand and pricing have picked back up, and Mike said he expects that continue to increase in the weeks to come.
WA:
Trish Lovell of Agri-Pack in Pasco, WA, said that operation is running only yellows now, and she called the market “steady.” She said Agri-Pack has ample supplies to get through the season, and she said overwinter new crop onions will start in June, with direct seeded coming on in mid-July.
