Markets Have Settled and Steadied

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Onion Market Update for Nov. 1, 2022

By John Harris

We are to the time of year when the markets become steady and these weekly reports become monthly reports.  Not much has changed since the last update.  Now that everyone is safely in the storage sheds and the numbers are solid, the market has firmed up quite a bit.

A couple weeks ago there was harvest still going on from shed to shed, particularly on yellows.  Most of that has stopped, markets have settled and there isn’t too much price difference from shed to shed. 

Washington lacks much in top size which isn’t any surprise or secret.  There seems to be enough colossals and super sizes in Idaho-Eastern Oregon to satisfy the demand that currently exists.  Whites are very steady with hardly any change now in the last 6-8 weeks. The red market is also stable, although a bit weaker than I thought it would be right now.  Demand is just so-so as we haven’t topped a daily shipment of 400 in the last 7 days.  With Thanksgiving just 3 short weeks away, the demand is coming for sure.

One last note of interest right now I feel is important to touch on is freight.  We had nightmare-high freight last year, and based on the threat of high diesel prices, we could see another winter of $5.00/mile freight rates.  I’m not counting on that, but as temps have cooled and reefer rates have climbed in the past 10 days, it is certainly in front of my mind and something to pay attention to as we plow ahead into the holiday season.

Yellows – Market has firmed considerably from two weeks ago.  The volume deals and hot buys have dried up, generally speaking.  With retailers getting ready for a big push on consumer packages, the medium market has steadied itself as well and is in a better place, which will likely continue through the holiday season.

Whites – The white market has been very stable.  Quality overall has been pretty darn good with minor issues here and there.  I would expect quality to only get better with the early stuff out of the way and the market will be steady through the holidays at this point.  There doesn’t appear anything currently set to drive it up or down in the near future.

Reds – The medium red deal is still fairly crummy.  I feel like the jumbo market would have been a couple dollars stronger than it is currently, and the medium price could be bogging it down.  I’m going to make an early prediction with all of these mediums right now that the red deal is going to get short and we’re going to see the market shoot up in price after the first of the year. Every time I make a prediction like this, I’m usually dead wrong but I have a better feeling that this red market is underperforming right now and has a chance to gain back some ground before this storage crop season is said and done.

Have a great week all.  Always happy to hear your comments and feedback.

Editors Note: John Harris is the president and founder of Paradigm Fresh and Colorado Cold Connect in Fort Morgan, Colorado. He can be reached at John@paradigmfresh.com.