Northwest onion market strong with lighter crop
With Northwest onion crop yields cut short by hot weather, shipping point prices for onions were well above year-ago levels in late October.
Onion marketers said the price runup rivaled anything they had seen in decades, and said it was “to be determined” how the high prices and shorter crop may interact to influence the length of the season. While reports of salmonella linked to onions from Mexico in recent weeks perhaps dulled some demand, the market was firm at elevated levels, marketers said.
“We’ve probably never seen prices this high at this time on the calendar,” said Shay Myers, CEO of Parma, Idaho-based Owyhee Produce.
While demand was beginning to build in early November for Thanksgiving needs, the food safety recalls related to onions from Mexico created a small reduction in demand in recent weeks.
“The price didn’t drop at all (during that sluggish period), which is a good sign,” he said.
Myers said there will be Northwest onions available from storage through mid- to late April as usual, but the shipment levels will be down, noting that onion stocks on hand are down about 40% to 50% from normal.
During the growing season, the Treasure Valley growing region of Idaho and eastern Oregon exceeded 100 degrees for 20 days through mid-July, up from the historical annual average of six days reaching 100 degrees or more. That led to yield reduction, industry leaders said.
The average Idaho-eastern Oregon shipping point price in late October for 50-pound sacks of jumbo yellow onions was reported at $14-15, well more than double the $6-6.50 reported price per sack the same time a year ago.
Average Idaho-eastern Oregon yellow onion prices, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market News service, rose from $8.33 per 50-pound bag in mid-August to an average of $14.50 by late October.
The USDA said Idaho-eastern Oregon red onions in 25-pound sacks increased from $8.50 in late August to $14.25 by the end of October. White onions from the region were running about $16 per 50-pound sack at the end of October, according to the USDA.
Volume moving
Top shipping areas for onions in late October were Columbia Basin, Wash.; Idaho and Malheur County, Ore.; Peru; Colorado; and Utah, according to the USDA.
Domestic shipments of onions the week of Oct. 24 totaled 1,936 (40,000-pound) truckloads, down 22% from the same week a year ago.
Truck shipments of Idaho onions, at 394 truckloads the week of Oct. 24, were off 32% from the same week a year ago. Onion shipments from Oregon, at 127 truckloads for the week of Oct. 24, were 52% lower than the same week last year. Washington onion shipments were 646 truckloads the week of Oct. 24, down slightly from 659 truckloads moved the same week a year ago.
While shipments from the Northwest were well off last season’s pace, imports of onions were running hot.
Peru’s onion shipments to the U.S. the week of Oct. 24 totaled 602 truckloads, up about three times the 203 truckloads imported the same week a year ago.
The USDA’s survey of more than 30,000 retail grocery stores said retail promotions of onions the week of Oct. 26 were reported at 8,720 stores. That compares with 15,526 grocery stores with ad promotions on onions the same week a year ago. The average promoted retail price for onions was 97 cents per pound, up from 85 cents per pound in late August, the USDA reported.
