Imported sweet onions from Peru are coming in via good supplies.
“We’re around the halfway point of the Peruvian sweet onion season both in volume and on the calendar,” says John Shuman of Shuman Produce in Reidsville, Ga. “The current supplies are good as we prepare for the upcoming holiday and winter demand.”
While the supplies look healthy, Shuman does note that the total number of containers shipped out of Peru and into US. ports are down approximately seven percent. And while the majority of sweet onions are hailing from Peru currently, he also adds that some additional volume is coming from the Pacific Northwest, New Mexico, and Nevada on the round grano cooking varieties.” The size profile overall of the onions continues to be a mix of colossal, jumbo, and mediums.
Strong holiday pick up
Demand meanwhile is likely about to increase on the commodity. “We expect to see strong demand for the holidays,” says Shuman, who adds Shuman also anticipates good retail support of its Feeding America consumer bags program. (The program features Shuman’s RealSweet bags promoting the Feeding America initiative, which helps provide 50,000 meals to families in need.)
And it seems demand for sweet onions year-round also continues to be strong. “The Peruvian sweet onion continues to gain popularity with retailers in the US,” says Shuman. “Demand continues to increase and especially as we come into the holiday and winter time period.”
Steady pricing
Pricing on the sweet onions are currently similar to last year’s prices and are reported around $16-$19, though mostly settling in at $17-$18. “With the strong demand during the holiday and winter time period, we expect the market to be stable with the potential for increase as sweet onions from other growing areas finish up,” says Shuman, who notes that it expects to have good supplies of sweet onions until early March.
Meanwhile planting has begun for the spring domestic crop of Vidalia onions in Georgia. “We started transplanting our Vidalia onions into the fields earlier this month,” says Shuman. “Despite a few recent rain showers, the planting is going well.”
John Shuman
Shuman Produce
Tel: +1-912-557-4477
john@shumanproduce.com
www.realsweet.com