Onion Shipments Are Down But Spot Deals Can Be Found

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Onion Market Update 5/14/2025

By John Harris

If you can believe it, we are already halfway through May. Right now, we have onions in many different places.  Washington and Idaho-Eastern Oregon are finishing up at a few places. The Imperial Valley in California is running full speed ahead. New Mexico is getting going slowly and will build in the coming weeks. South Texas continues to ship Texan and Mexican onions, and the Uvalde area is also shipping.  Georgia is also in full production, although the area received heavy rain this week, which could put some of that production at risk. 

Overall, average daily shipments have come down considerably in the last two weeks, from around 500 shipments per day to an average of about 385 shipments per day. This isn’t a huge surprise as we have seen the Mexican import numbers drop significantly. I’d like to say that it is a sign that the market is gaining strength as these numbers generally suggest that trend, but unfortunately, that is not the case. I will say that California has done a nice job sustaining a steady market with reasonable prices. It’s still a little lower than we’d like to see this time of year, but overall, that market has been a bright spot. 

There are spot deals in Texas right now on white and red onions for anyone able to manage load volume of either of these colors. Based on the pictures and shipments we have seen up to this point, it is not quality related. In general, I feel like quality from all areas can be counted on right now. 

As always, I appreciate and look forward to any input you may have. Have a great week and I’ll update again as we transition from the Imperial Valley into Southern New Mexico in a few weeks. 

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.