Like a number of spring crops, the season for for sweet onions from Georgia has been helped along by mild winter temperatures. Growers are anticipating a mid-April start to what they anticipate will be a season with slightly higher prices.Steve Roberson, of Roberson Onion Company, says they have an April 12 ship date for their onions. He adds that, although the market as a whole should see volumes similar to last year, Roberson Onion Company is expecting an increase.
“Our volume will be up from last year,” he says, “it should be up by about 25 percent.” A mild winter brought no challenges, and he notes that the quality of onions looks especially good.
The weather also helped speed up the oncoming season, says Wayne Durrence of Wayne Durrence Farms.
“For a while, it looked like we were going to start around the first of May,” he says, “but as it got warmer, we could see it was going to be closer to mid-April.” He agrees that volume, in general, will be roughly the same as in previous years, but he anticipates a slightly higher price.
“In Texas, the price has been around $10 to $12 per 40 pound box,” he says, “and we usually see prices for our onions to be a little higher.” He predicts prices will hover within the $12 to $16 range.
David Ray, of Ray Farms, says the winter resulted in a good crop free of diseases or any other problems. Although he notes that acreage will be slightly down this year, the quality of crop should be excellent, owing partly to favorable weather.
“The quality is good,” he says, “and the season looks to be about as perfect as it can be.”