April 15, 2021
MARKET
Washington:
Brenden Kent with Sunset Produce in Prosser told us on April 13 planting for the 2021 crop is finished. “We do have all of our onions in for this next season, and everything looks good so far. We are currently just mainly shipping contracts out on our existing crop and plan to go another couple of months with what we have in storage. The onions are holding very well at this point, and we are hopeful to have a good finish to the season.” He continued, “The market has been a little all over the place lately, and that’s not uncommon for this time of the year as new regions come online with product. I expect to see a little bit of a distance in pricing between new and old crop over the next few weeks. However, demand for old crop seems to be strong moving forward if the quality is good.” On transportation, Brenden said it “continues to be a concern. Reefer rates to the East Coast are extremely high, and I don’t expect those
January 7, 2021
MARKET
Washington/E. Oregon:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms reported from his Salem, OR, office on Jan. 6. “We started the week pretty strong until everyone figured out what trucks are costing,” he said. “By the time you tack on freight to the price you need in order to get some return to the shipper and the grower, the demand starts to slip. This issue shouldn’t last long.” He added, “Availability on trucks should start picking up in the next couple of weeks, and we all have to remember this is the first year without Railex, so we’re adjusting to that, too. Pricing isn’t so hot right now, but that should change too when the Food Box Program kicks in the next couple of weeks. I guess folks are getting these boxes. I haven’t really heard of where they are all going, but if it’s helping families out and it’s a boost for our industry, that’s a very good thing.”