“It has been a tough onion season from a grower’s perspective”, says John Wong with Champion Produce. “We have been dealing with worldwide oversupply and prices have been extremely low as a result.” During the past two to three weeks, weather disruptions in Mexico and Southern Texas caused some relief. “Although prices are good now, they are still not great”, commented Wong. “Today, a 50lb mesh bag of Jumbo Yellow onions runs at $8 while three weeks ago, we wouldn’t get more than $3 for it.” That price just covered the cost of sorting and packaging.
As a result of cold and rainy weather, Southern Texas onion production is about three weeks behind its earlier projections. With field harvest season starting soon, Wong is hopeful that today’s better price will stay at this level for the next month. “If onion prices are too low to generate a return for the grower, growers may opt to just plow them under rather than harvest them”, said Wong.
Onion packing/shipping moves from northwest to the southern regions soon. Field harvest will start in Southern Texas in mid to late April, followed by Central Texas. Southern California begins in May, with Central California and New Mexico field harvesting from June through August. Champion Produce is based in Idaho where the field harvest season starts mid to late August. The company stores its onions in air /climate controlled storages beginning in August through late April, ending their shipping season in Idaho. For more information:
John Wong
Champion Produce
Tel: (+1) 208-722-5800