|
Click to listen to this article
|
Onion Market Update for January 2, 2023
By John Harris
As far as the initial outlook for the market to begin the year, it doesn’t seem like there are any big changes on the horizon. Storage crop numbers are certainly down which, one would think, might play into a hotter market down the stretch.
Some things to consider is that Mexico seems to have some early onions coming across now and those crossings will only increase as we get closer to February. The second thing we need to be aware of is that we have just come out of Christmas after a year of heavy inflation. Consumer credit card debt is at a 40-year high and interest rates have soared over the past year. It will be interesting to see how the consumer handles these factors and how their shopping and spending habits change in the first quarter. I have never considered a factor like this, ever, in my outlook of an upcoming market. But this year, you can be certain that I feel like it is going to play some sort of role in demand going forward.
Yellows – The market is steady and has remained consistent for about 10 weeks now. I keep waiting for a possible rise in the jumbo market, but at this point, it just hasn’t happened yet. Until the demand comes on strong enough for the market to trend upward, I believe the current market levels will remain steady.
Reds – The red market is a little bit more all over the place as far as prices go. Jumbos are getting a premium and mediums continue to be somewhat of a struggle to find enough outlets for all of them right now. The market on mediums is really about as low as it can be. Canada is running low on red supplies and that may be a saving grace as they do use a lot of mediums for their retailers.
Whites – The white market has trended down a little in some areas with Mexican supplies that are in the Southeast markets. Quality is also dictating price as well, to some degree. What we see cross from Mexico in the next 6 weeks will have a large impact on how well the white market is able to hold on. I’m hopeful that we are able to maintain current markets, but there is a part of me that is expecting it to come off slightly as we get into February.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New Year. Here is to a prosperous 2023 for all of us.
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.
