Shuman Farms offering strong volume of Peruvian onions

Cobbtown, Ga.-based Shuman Farms has started shipping its premium sweet onions from Peru, which are expected to continue shipping through March, said John Shuman.

Shuman, president and CEO, said the marketer encourages both bulk and bag promotions with its retailer partners.

In 1998, Shuman Farms became one of the first Vidalia growers to establish growing operations in Peru to bring a sweet onion with a consistent look and flavor to grocery shelves all year long, he said.

“Shuman Farms plants the same seed varieties that its Vidalia [onions] are grown from on their farms in Peru, where the similar climate and sandy soils produce a world-class sweet onion — with the same flat shape and mild, sweet flavor that we all have come to know and love,” Shuman said. “Since then, we have become the leading grower, packer and shipper of sweet onions from Peru.”

Learn: More about sweet onions from PMG

The firm markets its Peruvian sweet onions throughout the fall and winter, filling the gap left in the market when Vidalia onions are not available.

Not only does Shuman Farms operate its own farms and facilities in Peru, but the Peruvian import program also supports a full-time, year-round workforce in their Georgia packing facilities and sales offices, he said.

Shuman said the supplier’s Peruvian sweet onions are imported through the Port of Savannah, Ga., the fastest-growing container port in the U.S. and a huge driver of economic success for Georgia and the Southeast, supporting more than 560,000 jobs. From there, the Peruvian onions travel about 70 miles west to Shuman Farms’ local packing facilities, where they are graded and packaged for shipping to grocery stores throughout the U.S. and Canada, he said.