May 6, 2021
California Imperial Valley:
Chris Woo with Owyhee Produce in Nyssa, OR, and Parma, ID, said on May 5 his company had recently finished out its 2020-21 shipping season from the Treasure Valley. “We just got done with shipping in Idaho/Oregon cold storage onion crop for the year and have moved our customer base to new crop from California,” he said. “Quality is good, and we’re shopping all colors through the month of May.” And in recognition of the day’s festive significance, he said, “After work I’m going to have a margarita and maybe attend a piñata party. Happy Cinco de Mayo.”
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 21, 2021
MARKET
Washington:
John Vlahandreas with Wada Farms reported from his office in Salem, OR, on Jan. 20. “Right now I am moving onions mostly out of Washington,” he said. “Demand is decent, and with the Food Box Program kicking in, medium demand is going to get hotter with larger sizes to follow.” When asked about the market, John said its “eh – so-so.” He said, “It’s not terrible, but it’s not the best. No one likes to talk about it, but let’s face it: Without foodservice, this market is not going to be really awesome.” John continued, “When you look at it, the vaccine is going slow. But even after everyone gets vaccinated that wants it, you have to get people dining out again, and that could take a while, maybe six months.” He added that transportation is somewhat better this week. “There seems to be more trucks available this week, and the rates seem a little better,” he said. “Looks like drivers are done with the h