A look at Bland Farms' transition to Peruvian onions

Peruvian onion supplies are increasing seasonally for Bland Farms, says Sloan Lott.

Lott, director of sales for Bland Farms, Glennville, Ga., says sizing and yields for early fields in northern Peru were down some from normal because of hot weather during the growing season.

“We’re a little bit heavier on mediums than normal, and we don’t have a lot of big, colossal onions,” Lott said.

Bland Farms finished its Vidalia onions in late August and expects to carry Peruvian onions until February, when the marketer will start its Mexican crop.

“We are looking at a shorter-than-normal season out of Peru this year,” Lott said, citing reduced yields and disease pressure in some fields. Bland Farms has its own farms in Peru, he added.

There have been some delays in moving Peruvian ocean container shipments through the Panama Canal because of a freight backlog there, but it has been “nothing crippling,” Lott said.

Related: U.S. imports of Peruvian onions grow

Bland Farms has been sourcing onions from Peru for three decades or so, and the onions produced in the region represent a well-suited counter-season alternative to the Vidalia granex sweet onions, he said.

“We looked for years to find the complement to Vidalia onions,” Lott said. “We tried to grow them all over the world; we tried Chile, we tried Mexico, and we tried everywhere in the U.S.

“We never really found that place until we found Peru,” he continued. “[Peru] just really has been consistent, and as far as the sweet onion goes, it is one of the more consistent places you can find to grow granex varieties. It just checked all the boxes as far as extending our program.”

After being sized in packing sheds, Peruvian onions grown by Bland Farms are shipped to the U.S. in 50-pound bags, loaded in ocean containers for transport. Upon arrival in the U.S., they are sorted, graded and packed for customers.

Packing the onions in the U.S. allows Bland Farms to put a “second eye” on the crop and make sure that any issues such as moisture or mold are dealt with before they are sent to consumers.

Bland Farms typically brings about 1,200 to 1,500 containers of Peruvian onions annually to the U.S. market. Last season, volume was cut a bit because of high ocean freight, Lott said.