Mexican onion production has started which is bringing a bit of relief to the market. "The supply on all onions is tight right now, especially white and red onions," says Christine Lindner, Alsum Farms & Produce Marketing Manager. "Supply should also be better once Texas starts, which should be next week on yellows. Reds and whites should start in Texas mid-March."
Overall the supply of onions is down substantially from last year in all colors, especially white onions. This is largely due to importing countries such as Mexico and Canada buying more than usual in the last three to four months. While supply is down across all colors, it's especially so on whites and reds are increasingly getting tighter as well.
For Wisconsin, this means an early end this year on yellow onions by one to two months and reds finished up already a few weeks ago. "Wisconsin started on time this season but the pressure from the tight supply out west caused our supply to move fast. Our red and yellow crop was also bigger than usual, causing the popular large medium onion size to move faster than usual," says Lindner.
While for now yellows are still coming from Wisconsin, red onions are coming from Washington and Oregon and white onions are from Mexico, Washington and Oregon. "Conditions in these regions have been decent. Mexico has had water shortages, meaning stocks will be smaller from this region. However the crop is good quality," says Lindner. The East Coast is also producing right now.
West pushing demand
As for demand, not surprisingly, it's strong for onions. "Especially for large medium yellow onions in consumer packs. Out west continues to be the main factor driving up our demand," says Lindner.
All of this means that pricing has continued to rise although it's slowed in the past two weeks. "They are certainly a lot higher than a year ago. We haven't had an onion market like this in a very long time!" she says.
She notes that finding onions at a good price with good quality is the biggest challenge at the moment. "Growers know the market and will charge extreme prices, even when the quality is suspect."
Looking ahead though, she sees prices easing up somewhat with Texas onions coming on this month. "Prices will be higher than last year but should lower $3-$5 per 50# across all colors. We could run into some quality issues as storage crop comes to an end," Lindner says.
For more information:
Christine Lindner
Alsum Farms & Produce
Tel: +1 (920) 348-6774
Christine.Lindner@alsum.com
www.alsum.com