There’s good supply of yellow onions currently in storage on Quebec’s south shore region. Customers on the east coast of Canada and the United States (New Brunswick to Florida). “Our objective is to provide our customers with ample availability until our new season begins in July,” said Charlene Newton, account manager for Groupe Vegco Inc. Onions are grown locally in the province of Quebec, noting that the market this year is lower than the same time last year.
Quality is very good for what’s in their 40,000 square foot temperature controlled storage facility. Harvest of early onions will start mid July to mid-August, then from mid-August to early October, they’ll harvest the storage onions.
Stable business
Newton doesn’t expect any changes in the next couple of weeks however notes there will be a normal gap in the market towards the end of March. The warmer February weather in parts of Ontario and Quebec may start onions popping that aren’t in storage, Netwon said. “Although the weather has been very mild compared to most years we have no need to be concerned like most with our hi-tech warehouses.” Her heart goes out to companies in the United States that experienced losses because of the heavy snowfall. Business remains stable for this time of year. “We usually see a spike in business starting in March when other producers finish for the season,” she said.
Grading system
Two years ago Groupe Vegco installed a unique grading system that allows them to guarantee the quality of the onions “externally and more importantly, internally,” said Newton. The system is originally intended for apples but functions very well for onions. It’s giving us proper quality for customers and also providing us/our growers a loft of info regarding the varieties. We can take 10 pics one an onion and it will provide us with any information on any internal decay, rot, etc.” It also helps to determine which varieties are performing well and those that aren’t.
For more information:
Charlene Newton
Groupe Vegco
Ph: 450-454-7515