Posts Tagged “Northwest onion shipments”
Onion growers and shippers in Washington and Oregon expect a good shipping season with harvest underway and onions headed to storage, despite growing conditions in the Pacific Northwest which were less than ideal.
FC Boxom Co. of Seattle works with several growers, shippers and packers in eastern Washington marketing yellow, red, white and sweet onions. Harvest of early yellow and red varieties started in mid-July and will run through September or October. Although the weather was a little cool during the growing season, higher yields are expected. The company’s acreage is about the same as a year ago.
Onions 52 of Syracuse, has conventional and organic red, yellow, white and sweet onions out of Washington this season, as well as its proprietary Sunions “tearless and sweet” onions. The Washington harvest started in early August and is being moved into storage. Onion shipments will continue through mid-May.
Countryside Acres LLC, of Walla Walla, WA., grows and sells yellow Walla Walla sweet onions and a small number of Candy Sweet onions. Harvest started late this year due to cold and rainy weather. The company brought in the first bins on June 20, after the onions cured in gunny sacks in the field.
Strebin Farms LLC of Troutdale, OR started harvesting onions in Yerington, Nev., in mid August and will begin shipping September 1st. The company has white, red, sweet and a few yellow onions. Acreage will be the same as last year; however, the company will add some red and yellow organic onions this season.
In Washington, yields per acre dropped from 90,720 pounds in 2020 to 63,840 pounds in 2021. And in Oregon, yields dropped from 90,048 pounds in 2020 to 79,856 pounds in 2021, according to the USDA. Utilized production of Washington onions was valued at $101 million in 2021, down 28% from 2020. Oregon onions had a total utilized production value of $115 million in 2021, down 5%.
Northwest onion shipments from storage will be occurring through mid- to late April as usual, but volume will be down because onions remaining to be shipped are down about 40% to 50% from normal, according to Owyhee Produce of Parma, ID.
During the growing season, the Treasure Valley growing region of Idaho and eastern Oregon exceeded 100 degrees for 20 days through mid-July, up from the historical annual average of six days reaching 100 degrees or more. This resulted in a yield reduction.
Top shipping areas for onions in late October were Columbia Basin, WA.; Idaho and Malheur County, OR.; Peru; Colorado; and Utah, according to the USDA.
Truck shipments of Idaho onions, at 394 truckloads the week of Oct. 24, were off 32% from the same week a year ago. Onion shipments from Oregon, at 127 truckloads for the week of Oct. 24, were 52% lower than the same week last year. Washington onion shipments were 646 truckloads the week of Oct. 24, down slightly from 659 truckloads moved the same week a year ago.
While shipments from the Northwest were well off last season’s pace, imports of onions were running well ahead of normal.
Peru’s onion shipments to the U.S. the week of Oct. 24 totaled 602 truckloads, up about three times the 203 truckloads imported the same week a year ago.
This is an update on produce shipments from Washington, Oregon and California.
Northwest Onion Shipments
Potato shipments for the new season have recently got underway from the Columbia Basin in Oregon and Washington state. They are now moving into good volume.
In Walla Walla, WA, shipping of Walla Walla sweet onions have been ongoing for serval weeks and will continue until around Labor Day.
Northwest potato shipments from the old crop are still happening, but declining in volume as the season concludes.
California Produce Shipments
Strawberry shipments have been on a steady keel for a while now out of the Watsonville area averaging about 900 truck loads per week. Volume also is steady from the Santa Maria district, although volume is only about 25 percent of that from Watsonville.
Meanwhile moderate loadings of broccoli, cauliflower and celery continues. Lettuce, not surprisingly, leads Salinas Valley vegetable shipments. Head lettuce and romaine alone, are averaging over 1800 truckloads per week. There also are other types of lettuce and a few dozen different other veggie items being shipped.
Tomato loadings are available from the Central San Joaquin Valley, as well as the Oceanside area, and from Baja crossing the Mexican/US border at Otay Mesa.
Pear shipments are now ongoing from the Sacramento area and the northern San Joaquin Valley.
California pears – grossing about $4900 to Dallas.
Salinas Valley produce – grossing about $5600 to Cleveland.