The fall onion season in Washington state and Utah has kicked off for Onions 52, based in Syracuse, Utah. With demand for new crop onions exceedingly high, it has been a busy start to the season.
Harvest is in full swing in Washington state, and the company began storing onions in early September for its robust storage season. Storage onions have a significantly lower water content than summer onions, making them easier to store in climate-controlled sheds from early fall until the following spring. It is not unlikely for September-harvested onions to ship to stores late into May and even early June, according to Onions 52 Director of Marketing, Falon Brawley.
“Onions 52 is a one-stop onion shop, with a plethora of options for retail packs, private labeling, foodservice offerings, and everything in between for all color onions,” reports Shawn Hartley, Owner/VP of Sales at Onions 52. Hartley continues, “We are encouraged with the crop in the Northwest, including Idaho/Eastern Oregon. It has been a crazy start to the growing season in all areas.”
Partner sheds in Eastern Oregon started harvesting in late August and early September, Tiffany Cruickshank reported from the newly established Vale, Oregon office. Cruickshank states, “The crop looks variable due to a dry, cold, and windy spring coupled with multiple heat waves during the growing season. Some fields have certainly fared better than others. We are hopeful the growing conditions will allow the onions to put on a bit more size before harvest takes off.”
The Onions 52 farms will supply customers across the country with top-quality red, yellow, white, sweet, USDA-certified organic onions, and tearless Sunions®, from late August through early June.
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Onions 52, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Syracuse, UT. They are a leading year-round grower-shipper of yellow, red, white, and sweet onions.
As inflation remains and fresh produce prices increase, consumer habits have been changing. In July 2022, fresh produce sales were up 4.2 percent, but volume sales were down 4.8 percent, compared to July 2021.
“Inflation, COVID and consumer mobility continue to change shopping and consumption patterns,” said Joe Watson, VP, Retail, Foodservice & Wholesale for IFPA, in a report by 210 analytics.
“The consumer reactions to the current environment combined with supply side volatility are keeping all of us on our toes to understand the latest trends and quickly pivot accordingly,” he added.
In July, inflation was up 15.3 percent for grocery and 12.6 percent for perishables, so on the whole, fresh produce prices were up from last year, at 8.5 percent level on a per-unit basis and 9.5 percent on a per-pound basis.
In addition, the price per unit across all foods and beverages in the IRI-measured multi-outlet stores accelerated further to an increase of 13.3 percent in the five weeks ending July 31st, 2022, versus a year ago.
Moreover, fresh produce sales reached $7.7 billion, surpassing the record set the prior year by 4.2 percent. Fresh fruit added $163 million in sales and vegetables added $147 million when compared to July 2021.
Gains were achieved in many different ways. Avocados, peaches, nectarines and plums had very high inflation, while pineapples and apples had below-average inflation, but robust demand pushed their performances into the top 10 in absolute dollar growth in July.
The fresh share of the produce business has continued to rise steadily and while summer is a top season for fresh produce sales, July 2022 shows that consumers are not switching out of fresh produce because of inflationary concerns.
However, overall, fresh produce pound sales trailed behind year ago levels all throughout 2021 and continue to do so thus far in 2022. In July, pound sales were down 4.8 percent year-on-year.
“Volume sales were a mix with increases for berries and pineapples but down results for all other top 10 sellers,” said Jonna Parker, Team Lead Fresh at IRI.
Berries continued to be the fruit category’s best seller in July. However, unlike in the month of May, where berry sales continued to be more than double that of melons, Parker said: “the gap with the number two, melons, was by far not as big as we’ve seen.”
“In part this has to do with below-average inflation, but we also saw cherries come on strong and mixed fruit moving back in the top 10 sellers due to the Fourth of July sales spike,” she added.
On the whole, compared to 2019, pre-pandemic, prices across all foods and beverages were up 25.2 percent. Dollars remained 17.7 percent ahead and pounds stayed just above 2019 levels by 0.7 percent. Therefore, despite experiencing some volume pressure in the early months of 2022, fruit pulled even with 2019 levels on much better prices in July.
Considering the outlook for fresh produce, Parker commented: “Back-to-school shopping is in full swing and that brings about many healthy produce snacking campaigns at retailers around the country in addition to the final weeks of grilling season.”
Michigan’s official crop estimate of 29.5 million bushels (1.239 billion pounds) was recently announced and the 2022 shipping estimate is well above average.
The Michigan Apple Committee reports ideal weather conditions in spring and summer and stored energy from 2021’s smaller crop has resulted in a large, high-quality apple.
Average annual shipments are approximately 24 million bushels. According to the USDA, Michigan harvested 15.6 million bushels of apples in 2021. There are more than 14.9 million apple trees in commercial production, covering 34,500 acres on 775 family-run farms in Michigan.
Many factors contribute to the size of an apple crop, including weather and the size of the previous year’s crop. To make the estimate, growers and other industry experts report on what they are seeing in various regions of the state, then come to a consensus on the crop size estimate.
Michigan apples are available nearly year-round and shipments in a good year are destined for 32 states and 18 countries worldwide.
The Michigan Apple Committee of Lansing, MI is a grower-funded nonprofit organization devoted to marketing, education and research activities to distinguish the Michigan apple and encourage its consumption in Michigan and around the world.
California fall fruit shipments are looking good as summer comes to a close.
Bari Produce in Fresno, CA, reports a fall set looking good across the board ranging from pomegranates to table grapes, persimmons and late yellow peaches.
While the company sees 2022 table grape volumes being similar to those of 2021, which were down slightly over the previous year, the grower/shipper expects an abundant crop for later-season varieties such as Autumn King, Crimson, Autumn Royal and Allison.
The table grape season is now in full swing for Homegrown Organics of Porterville, CA, and will hit peak production in October. By December 1, the operation will be in peak production for citrus, including oranges, lemons, Mandarins and grapefruit.
Following a short crop in 2021, Homegrown Organic’s fall citrus shipments should be closer to average. Following a poor crop last year, down around 35%, this year should more normal.
While the company notes yields for early varieties of Asian pear look a bit lighter than average, mid-season and later varieties should see a normal-size crop. Homegrown Organics will have average yields for both Hachiya and Fuyo persimmon varieties, and a light-to-normal kiwi crop.
Sunkist Growers of Valencia, CA will ship a variety of California citrus this fall ranging from lemons, to Valencia oranges and Marsh Ruby grapefruit through October. Navel oranges follow in November.
Recent studies released by Dr. John Pezzuto and his team from Western New England University show “astonishing” effects of grape consumption and “remarkable” impacts on health and on lifespans.
Published in the journal Foods, one study showed that adding grapes to a high-fat diet, typically consumed in western countries, yielded reductions in fatty liver and extended lifespans. Noting that these studies add an entirely new dimension to the old saying ‘you are what you eat,’ Dr. Pezzuto, who has authored over 600 scientific studies, said that the work with grapes showed actual changes in genetic expression. “That is truly remarkable.”
Adding grapes to a high-fat diet also increased levels of antioxidant genes and delayed natural death. Acknowledging that it is not an exact science to translate years of lifespan from a mouse to a human, Dr. Pezzuto said that his best estimate is the change observed in the study would correspond to an additional 4-5 years in the life of a human.
Another study by Dr. Pezzuto and his team, published in the journal Antioxidants, reported that grape consumption altered gene expression in the brain and had positive effects on behavior and cognition that were impaired by a high-fat diet.
A third study, published by a team led by Dr. Jeffrey Idle in the journal Food & Nutrition, showed that in addition to changes in genetic expression, grapes also change metabolism.
The California Table Grape Commission provided the grapes used in the studies as well as partial support.
Grower and shipper Eagle Eye Produce, based in Idaho Falls, ID started shipping its new crop of yellow, red, and white onions from their facilities in Western Idaho & Eastern Oregon about a month ago.
The onion harvest, which got underway in the Snake River Valley of Western Idaho and Eastern Oregon will continue through most of September. The company also is harvesting red, yellow and white onions in Washington state. Shipments for russets, red and yellow potatoes started in late August.
Over the next few months, Eagle Eye growers will harvest thousands of acres of world-famous Idaho potatoes along with thousands of acres from key growing areas in Washington.
Eagle Eye reports the crop is looking very good and there is a tremendous amount of demand built up, due to the short supply year from last year’s crop. Overall acreage for this season is down due to limitations with irrigation water and increased input costs for growers and packers. With the challenges early in the growing season, the firm anticipates slightly smaller sizes and a bit lighter yield, but overall, is very pleased with the quality.
To prepare for the upcoming crop, Eagle Eye Produce has built new state of the art storage facilities and invested further into their packing facilities, with state-of-the-art equipment, technology, and automation to reduce labor constraints, improve quality, and contribute to more consistent packs year-round. Eagle Eye Produce has also bolstered its supply of red and yellow Idaho potatoes with increased acreage.
This industry-leading structure allows for one-stop loading of russet, red, yellow, and value-add products from their facilities in Idaho.
Eagle Eye Produce is headquartered in the heart of Idaho potato country, but they grow much more than potatoes. Annually cultivating more than 30,000 acres of fresh produce from Idaho to Mexico, and across most of the Western United States with a national sales and marketing team to support their diverse year-round commodity programs and proven brands. Eagle Eye Produce owns and operates state-of-the-art warehouses and packing facilities in Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and California,
Hurricane Kay hit Mexico’s west coast May 8th and mango shipments will be torpedoed, and vegetables also are likely to follow.
Kay’s wind and rain during Mexico’s monsoon season is likely bringing an early end to mango shipments, with more short-term challenges for vegetable exports.
Grow Farms in Donna, TX reports Mexican mango shippers were challenged this summer, and hurdles stand the remainder of their Mexican season.
Mango production is over in Rosario in southern Sinaloa, and the focus has completely shifted to Los Mochis in the north, where rain and overcast skies have stopped production and kept harvest crews out of the fields. The season already had been forecast to end in late September under normal conditions, but many in the region have already shut down for the season.
Those continuing to ship face very low mango yields and will have to watch quality very closely.
Mango shipments will stay in tight supply for the next three- to five-weeks. Meanwhile U.S. buyers and shippers are expected to fill in with Brazilian fruit.
Mango volume should return to normal once Ecuador starts but this will not happen until mid-October or so.
Concerning vegetable shipments, Hurricane Kay will adversely affect Baja and possibly the Coachella Valley. Cucumber, squash, Roma, and Round tomato shipments will plunge over the next week because of the storm. Kay will certainly affect the Baja vegetable loadings in three or four weeks.
While monsoons are common in Sonora and Sinaloa, sometimes those seasons are dry, proving detrimental to winter crops, especially when water is insufficient to fill irrigation lakes.
In seasons like this one, which are very wet, delays in planting occur for the upcoming season.
Full reservoirs are great news for the season going forward, but recent rain will result in a later and lighter start to the harvest.
Most affected will be early cucumbers, melons, and summer squash in northern Sonora.
Grow Farms is predicting the following for Mexican vegetable shipments 12:
Sinaloa beans should start in early- to mid-November. Volume will be on the market by early December.
Sonora cucumbers are delayed, with harvest pushed back from late September to mid-October. Sonora cuke volume will be in place by early November.
Sinaloa cucumbers will start in early November, with volume by the middle of the month.
Sonora eggplant will have light volume in late October, with, at best, limited production.
To the south, Sinaloa eggplant will be on the market in early November with volume by mid-November.
Sonora green Bell peppers are delayed until mid- to late-November.
Green Bells from Sinaloa will be on the market in the last week of November or in early December. Volume should be on the market by mid-December.
A new Green Giant poll shows broccoli remains America’s favorite vegetable in 2022.
The Green Giant brand polled over 5,000 Americans for its annual ‘Favorite Veggie’ open-ended survey to determine consumers’ favorite vegetables.
Key survey findings include:
Broccoli Takes the Crown (Again): Broccoli is the favorite vegetable in 29 states. Runners up (in order of popularity) are corn, carrots, potatoes and asparagus.
Flipped on Favorites: More than half of the states (54%) swapped their favorite vegetable pick in 2022 including Iowa – which no longer chose corn as the favorite, but instead selected broccoli this year.
Corn Continues to Grow: Despite Iowa’s rebuff of corn, 11 states selected corn as their favorite veggie in 2022. A 37% increase in popularity from 2021.
Kids Crave Veggies: Contrary to popular belief, more than two thirds of parents surveyed (68%) say their kids enjoy eating vegetables.
Survey Data Compilation: 5,321 American consumers ages 18-94 agreed to take an online survey naming their favorite vegetable. The survey was conducted from 4/27/22 through 5/9/2022 and the users were recruited by a Suzy poll.
About Green Giant: Green Giant® has been been in the vegetable business over 100 years. Most recently, the Green Giant brand’s launch of its convenient and award-winning Veggie Swap-Ins® line, which includes Green Giant Riced Veggies, Green Giant Veggie Tots®, Green Giant Mashed Cauliflower and Green Giant Veggie Spirals®, has reinvigorated the frozen vegetable category.
After two straight disappointing years, the Red River Valley is expected to ship a more normal sized fresh crop this fall.
Weather played a large part in declining red production each of the last two years. Coupled with declining acres, the 2020 and 2021 red crops each fell more than 25% below the 5-year average.
Big increases in RRV yellow planted acres each of the past two years caused yellow potato production to be up substantially despite of weather challenges. This year, many potatoes went in late after a cool, wet spring, but the crop progress has pretty much returned to average levels with near ideal weather conditions over the summer.
Barring any surprises from Mother Nature this fall, look for reds and yellows to both be up this year with possibly the largest fresh crop in the Red River Valley since 2014. How does this fit in with the national forecast? With heat stress in the west and fresh acres shifting to processing, demand could potentially be favorable.
Americans consume over 500 million pounds of asparagus each year, with the vast majority, or 80%-90% of the vegetable being imported, primarily from Mexico and Peru, according to the USDA. In 2021, Peru accounted for about 40% of the value of all U.S. asparagus imports, second only to Mexico’s 59% share of imports.
Peak production from Peru usually occurs by mid September.
By value, according to the USDA, the top sources of imported asparagus in the U.S. from April 2021 through March 2022, compared with a year earlier, were:
Mexico: $381.6 million, 2% down from $389.5 million;
Peru: $263.7 million, up 2% from $257.7 million; and
Canada: $8.3 million, up 48% from $5.6 million.
“The U.S. Department of Commerce reported a 14% year-over-year volume increase of fresh market asparagus imports to the U.S. in 2021, said the Peruvian Asparagus Importers Association, or PAIA, in a news release. “With the two main source contributors being Peru and Mexico, the year-over-year volume increase for each country empowers importers to work closely with their retailer and foodservice customers to forecast and implement promotions year-round.”
“Imported asparagus is a year-round commodity, and importers will continue to provide various buying options for their customers,” added PAIA co-Chairman Walter Yager, of Alpine Fresh, in the release. “Asparagus is a nutritional powerhouse with versatile preparation possibilities.”
PAIA importer members have been sharing their fresh asparagus recipes with U.S. consumers since 2021. But PAIA is stepping up its recipe creation and promotion with the help of Peruvian asparagus importers, such as Southern Specialties of Pompano Beach, Fla., Yager said.
While cool temperatures during Peru’s winter this year have led to slightly lower yields, suppliers of asparagus from Peru are confident that steady supplies will prevail — even with a slight decrease in both asparagus imports and production from Peru.
“We expect supplies from Peru to be similar to last season, with production increasing in late September and promotable supplies beginning in October,” said Tracy Wood, vice president of sales for Seven Seas in Vero Beach, Fla. “It has been a cool winter in Peru, with lower yields so far in July. At this time, [we] expect to begin harvesting for the primary Peru season in mid-September, with promotable volume in October through mid-January.”
Charlie Eagle, Southern Specialties vice president, business development, sees the Peruvian asparagus season tracking similarly.
“Production from Peru is approximately the same as last year,” he said. “Exports to the U.S. have increased about 5% this year. This is largely due to obstacles in reaching other countries.”
While the Peruvian asparagus season typically peaks September through December, a climate that allows for year-round cultivation, is one reason this South American country is a powerhouse of asparagus production.
“Peru has a variety of climates that are ideal for growing asparagus,” Valdes noted. “The benefit of Peru is that asparagus can be grown in the north and south, and the two regions peak at different times. This allows us to import asparagus 52 weeks a year from Peru.”
For Seven Seas, which works with grower partners in the northern, central and southern regions along the coast of Peru, asparagus is always in season.
“Asparagus production in Peru is primarily along the west coast in what is considered a coastal desert,” Wood said. “The moderate temperatures, daily sunshine and sandy soils along the coast are ideal for asparagus production. These conditions, combined with varietal selection and water management, result in an excellent quality product.”
Sourcing from a number of grower partners in different parts of the country allows Seven Seas to provide its customers with asparagus, virtually year-round.
