Posts Tagged “Peruvian onion imports”
As the Peruvian sweet onion season draws to a close, Keystone Fruit Marketing of Greencastle, PA, a division of Progressive Produce of Los Angeles, is gearing up to transition from Peruvian Mayan Sweets to Mexican Mayan Sweets.
Keystone’s Mayan Sweets are well-recognized as a respected and established brand with a long history. The company’s foray into sweet onions began in the early 1990s when it became the first company to grow sweet onions in Peru.
The founders of Keystone wanted to have a year-round sweet onion program, and that meant going to various regions across North and South America to ensure a high-quality sweet onions available throughout the year.
Today, Keystone Fruit Marketing remains one of the largest importers of sweet onions from Peru into the United States and now has grower partners in multiple regions, including Washington, California, Mexico, Texas and Georgia.
The Peruvian sweet onion season, a cornerstone of Keystone’s year-round program, typically runs from late July through March, with peak supply from September to December.
As the Peruvian sweet onion season nears its conclusion, Keystone anticipates the start of the Mexican sweet onion season, set to kick off in mid-January. Early indications suggest an excellent crop.
Keystone expects goos supplies of Mexican sweet onions available through April, along with a full line of onion varieties, including red, white, yellow and it flat sweet onions for 2024.
Peruvian onions imported by the U.S. have increased from 130,807 metric tons in 2018 to 164,734 metric tons in 2022, according to statistics from the USDA.
The total value of U.S. imports of Peruvian onions rose from $52.3 million in 2018 to $67 million in 2022, the USDA said.
The value of U.S. imports of Peruvian onions topped $412.30 per metric ton in 2022, up from $406.50 in 2021 but down from $446 per metric ton in 2020, according to trade numbers from USDA.
Peru accounted for 12% of total U.S. onion imports in 2022, the same share as in 2018.
In 2022, Peru shipped onions to the U.S. in every month but June, according to the USDA. The top shipment months were October through December, accounting for more than half of Peru’s total onion shipments to U.S.
However, Peru shipped a significant volume of onions to the U.S. from September through March.
Imports of Peruvian onions by Bland Farmsof Greenville, GA are seasonally increasing.
Hot weather in Peru affected sizing and yields from early fields resulting in the crop being a little heavier on mediums than normal, with limited supplies of the big, colossal onions.
Bland Farms finished its Vidalia onion shipments in late August and expects to carry Peruvian onions until February, when the company will start its Mexican crop.
The grower/shipper who has its own farms in Peru, expects a shorter-than-normal season out of Peru due to reduced yields and disease problems in some fields.
Another issue is there have been a few delays in moving Peruvian ocean container shipments through the Panama Canal because of a freight backlog there.
Bland Farms has been sourcing onions from Peru for at least three decades to find the complement its Vidalia onions. 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 shipped.
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.
This may be the best onion crop from Peru in a decade, at least according to G&R Farms of Glennville, GA.
The company’s first Peruvian imports arrived in August and will continue into April when the Vidalia onion crop gets underway.
Bland Farms LLC of Glennville, GA also expects a good crop from Peru due to good growing conditions. A consistent crop, very comparable to past years past, with a nice, even size profile is seen. Volume from Bland Farms should be similar to last year, The company started started in September and will go through the spring.
Shuman Farms of Reidsville, GA emphasizes the importance Peruvian onions in it program. Shuman imports sweet onions through the Port of Savannah allowing the operation to maintain a full-time local workforce 12-months of the year.
Peru accounts for about 23% of imported onions, second only to Mexico, according to the USDA. In 2021, the U.S. imported nearly 357 million pounds of Peruvian onions, up from about 315 million pounds in 2020.
G&R notes Peru is a perfect climate and ecology to produce a great onion crop that mirrors the consistent quality and flavor you would find from Vidalia sweet onions. The Peruvian sweet onion crop provides a year-round option for fresh, sweet onions when the U.S. sweet onion industry is out of production.
Excellent Peruvian onion imports are seen this season as the early crop is show exceptional quality. It may be the best crop in three decades.
Mild, sweet, large and round with flattened tops and bottoms, Peru’s sweet onions are typically available September through April, complementing the Vidalia, Ga., region’s trademarked Vidalia onions, usually shipped April through September.
However, G&R Farms of Glennville, GA reports shipping schedules may be a little behind last year because of delays with transportation and logistics.
Bland Farms of Glennville, GA, has a corporate office and onion farms in Ica, as well as more farms in Arequipa, Peru.
Shuman Farms of Reidsville, GA., began shipping RealSweet onions from Peru in early September. The company reports very good quality and sizing.
The grower/shipper has a full-time staff and infrastructure in Peru, where there was a recent update to the facility and packing house. The company installed new grading lines and sorting equipment to improve product quality and a more efficient final repack in Georgia after passing through the Port of Savannah.
Northwest potato shipments from the Skagit Valley should be good this season. At the same time imports of Peruvian onions are looking favorable for American ports.
Skagit Valley Potato Shipments
The Skagit Valley lies in the northwestern corner of the state of Washington. According to Wikipedia, its defining feature is the Skagit River, which snakes through local communities including the seat of Skagit County, Mount Vernon, as well as Sedro-Wooley, Concrete, Lyman-Hamilton and Burlington.
There are about 90,000 acres of land devoted to agriculture, which has long been the primary industry in the Skagit Valley of the Cascade Mountain Range. Farmers produce some $300 million in a variety of crops that include potatoes, berries, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers and the iconic tulips and daffodils as well as livestock and dairy products.
The Skagit Valley grows over 80 crops on 93,000 acres annually, including” some 300 million pounds of red, yellow and white potatoes. Additionally, about 95 percent of the red potatoes grown in Washington state are grown in the Skagit Valley. The acreage is used to produce mostly fresh market reds, whites, yellows, purple, fingerlings and some chipping potatoes.
About 12,000 acres of potatoes are now grown in Skagit County, a number that has remained constant for the last year of available records, 2015.
Harvest is just getting underway and good volume shipments are seen starting around Labor Day.
Peruvian Onion Imports
Last year Peru exported about 3,500 containers representing nearly 108,000 tons to the United States, with similar volume expected this season, which begins in a couple of months.
Peru has 6000 to 7200 acres of sweet onions with the main production areas being Ica, Norte Chico de Lima, and Arequipa.
Peru imported sweet onions get underway as the Vidalia sweet onion storage program is winding down. Some U.S. onion companies have partnered with local Peruvian growers. Volume is growing each season by about 5 to 7 percent. About 85 percent of Peruvian onion exports are coming to the United States, arriving mostly by boat at ports on both the east and west coasts.
What a difference a year makes when it comes to onion shipments across the nation.Unlike last fall and winter, the 2016-7 shipping season for onions may not be better for growers and shippers, but it should mean a significant increase in loading opportunities for onion haulers. Okay, so onions not be offer prime freight rates.
Peri & Sons Farms, Yerington, N.Y., is an onion grower and shipper has sees plenty of global onion supplies. The company also has onion operations in the Mason Valley of Nevada and the Imperial and San Joaquin Valleys of California. Yields this past growing season were phenomenal.
While Peruvian onion imports are up slightly year-to-date – about 20 percent, overall import volumes from Peru will be down being slightly down from last season. Peruvian sweet onions are imported from September to February.
It is too early to tell what imported Mexican volume will be.
Generally, Northwest onion shipments this season appears to be similar to last year. The Northwest sweet onions are harvested in August and September and sold in the winter months with best quality product available in September and October. The biggest volume area in the Northwest this time of year is in western Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon. About 1,000 truck loads are being shipped weekly.
Western Idaho/Eastern Oregon storage onions – grossing about $3200 to Chicago; $5100 to New York City.
The Peruvian Mayan sweets are available from September to January, but because they aren’t storage onions, they’re continually harvested to provide fresh product.
Sweet onions from Walla Walla, WA has been declining in recent years and is down from its peak of 1,200 acres. However, some observers believe the decline has reached a low and is now stabilizing.
Vidalia sweet onions are grown in Tattnall and Toombs counties in Georgia and are shipped from late April to August.
As we approach fall, here is a look at the upcoming possibilities for fall loadings for Colorado potatoes, Georgia vegetables and imports of sweet onions from Peru.
Colorado Potato Shipments
Last year San Luis Valley Colorado potatoes were harvested off of 52,000 acres. This year acreage is about 50,900 acres.
Diggings started for some growers in August, with the harvest running into mid-October. There were 2,176 truck loads shipped during the 2015-16 season, down about 400 loads from the previous season. Russets account for nearly 99 percent of the crop last year and 97 percent in 2014-15.
Yellows last year were 0.2 percent, down slightly from 0.3 in 2014-15. Interestingly, yellows have declined since 2013, dropping 0.1percent each year. Red potatoes were 1 percent last year and 2.6 percent the year before, showing an increase of russets in 2015-16.
Shipments are increasing, but currently too light to quote freight rates.
Georgia Vegetable Shipments
While the volume doesn’t match that of spring and summer loadings, fall Georgia vegetable shipments are significant. A drawback may be multiple pick ups for lack of any one shipping having truckload volume at anyone time. Still, it is that time of year. Florida is dead and there’s not a lot of choices in the Southeast.
Generally speaking most fall Georgia vegetables are in the ground and harvest will be starting anytime. Heaviest volumes will be during October, although lighter shipments will be occurring in November and into December.
Among the fall veggie loading available are: bell peppers, squash, cabbage, green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, greens (kale, collard, turnip and mustard), as well as carrots sweet potatoes and hot peppers.
Shipments are too light to get an accurate quote on freight rates.
Peruvian Onion Imports
Onion imports from Peru have started arriving at U.S. ports in light volume, but are increasing. Peru typically follows the Vidalia sweet onion season. The product from Southeastern Georgia enjoyed banner shipments this season and is virtually finished. Meanwhile, it’s making for a good transition to Peruvian imported onions, which will continue through the winter and dovetail into the sweet onion shipments that will be coming next spring out of Mexico and then Texas – and once again back to Vidalia.