One of the larger Vidalia onion shippers, Shuman Produce, has just become significantly larger….On the West Coast, here’s an update on California orange shipments.
Shuman Produce of Reidsville, GA which has grown over the past decade or so to become the second largest Georgia onion shipper, has purchased the Plantation Sweets Vidalia onion operation in Cobbtown, GA.
The 680-acre property includes a 94,000-square foot packing facility, and sold for $5.5 million at a bankruptcy auction April 26.
Shuman Produce plans to use cold storage space on the property in the next couple of weeks for part of its current crop, and the land will be planted this fall for next spring’s onion harvest. The acquisition allows Shuman Produce to add several hundred thousand boxes of production to its Vidalia program.
During the first round of bidding on primarily the land itself the bidding was up to about $2.5 million. Obviously that more than doubled before the bidding concluded.
Plantation Sweets filed for bankruptcy in 2016. Farm equipment and onion bins that belonged to the company were sold in a separate auction April 27.
Another Vidalia onion operation, which previously belonged to Gerrald’s Vidalia Sweet Onions, will be available in a bankruptcy auction later this month. Online bidding on that property begins May 11.
Vidalia onions – grossing about $2000 to Chicago.
California Orange Shipments
An early conclusion to California’s navel orange shipments are expected due to a smaller crop, compared the last two seasons.
Navel shipments will be ending sometime in June. About 75 percent of the navel crop had been picked by early April.
California shippers already were exporting some valencia oranges, which should be available domestically after the navel crop is finished. Most valencias go to foodservice or to schools.
Consumers do not favor valencias as much as they used to, due in part to increased availability of Southern Hemisphere navels.
Southern California citrus, avocados – grossing about $3900 to Chicago.