Onion supplies should be ample, and quality should be good for the holidays and beyond, grower-shippers say.
The Idaho and eastern Oregon harvest of yellow, red and white onions has been completed for the 2024-25 season, and the crop should be “completely manageable,” said Candi Fitch, executive director of the Parma, Idaho-based Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee.
“With the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Marketing Order in place, one can expect consistent supply and quality in all sizes and colors, and customers should be able to source the sizes and the colors needed,” she said.
Yerington, Nev.-based Peri & Sons Farms Inc. completed its onion harvest in late October, said Teri Gibson, director of marketing and customer relations, who was pleased with onion quality and sizing.
“Everything I see coming out looks very good,” she said.
Peri & Sons offers red, yellow and white onions along with a sweet, proprietary variety called Sweetie and a tearless sweet onion with low acid content called Sweetie Tearless. The company also sells cipollinis, shallots and some garlic.
Wada Farms Marketing Group, Idaho Falls, Idaho, finished harvesting its red, yellow and white onions in mid-October, said Eric Beck, marketing director.
“We’re going to have a good crop,” he said. “There shouldn’t be any supply issues.”
Wada Farms ships its storage crop from July to April or May then sources from other areas, such as California, Arizona and New Mexico during the summer.
Volume should be similar to last year, Beck said.
There should be plenty of good-quality onions to go around this year, said Coleman Oswald, director of sales for Idaho Falls-based Eagle Eye Produce.
“We’ve got really good quality and really good yields, really good supplies for this season,” he said. “We’re a little bit on the larger size this year, which is a good thing with onions.”
About 80% of the company’s onions are sold in 25- and 50-pound bags and boxes. The rest are merchandised in consumer packs.
Rexburg, Idaho-based Wilcox Fresh focuses on Spanish sweet onions grown mainly in western Idaho and eastern Oregon, said Derek Peterson, vice president of sales and operations.
The company’s main program runs from August to April with summer onions sourced from Southern California and New Mexico.
“Onion growers had a pretty warm season,” Peterson said, and expect very good quality and good volume.
Wilcox Fresh sells mostly bulk onions with some retail packs.
