Early expectations are very high for the Texas onion deal, according to Dante Galeazzi, the president and chief executive officer of the Texas International Produce Association.

For Texas onions, “the timing of the harvest is very dependent on the regions, and the weather they have experienced during the season. Typically, the Rio Grande Valley begins harvest in March, followed by the Uvalde-Wintergarden region in April, with supplies running up to July.”

Galeazzi is quick to note that “Texas offers all the onion varieties.” In-season, the state can be a one-stop shop for onion buyers, as Texas produces sweet, yellow, red and white onions. These come with conventional and organic production options.

Furthermore, he noted, “Many of the grower-packers have unique or niche varieties, like Italian Sweet Reds or Flat Yellows. This is what makes Texas such an ideal location for onion buyers. Not only the freshness and flavor or our region’s onions, but also the diversity of supplies available during the season.”

A majority of the Texas onion crop is shipped to buyers in the South, Midwest and Northeast, as well as Canada. “Since the flavor profile of the Texas is mild enough to eat raw or sweet-enough to be cooked into a variety of dishes, it makes Texas onions ideal for all cuisine types and therefore ideal for all regions and markets,” he said.

He noted that “part of what makes Texas onions so flavorful is that they are shipped out fresh. Texas onions can store, but they are at their best flavor-wise the fresher you can get them. Texas onions always have very good demand at the start of the season, since they are the first domestically grown fresh onions available in the year. The onion crops, and their availability, in other regions do impact the demand for Texas-grown and how strong or weak the market end up, though.”

Texas-grown onions are subject to a Federal Marketing Order for quality, appearance and packaging, Galeazzi said. Within that order, there are over 20 approved Texas onion shippers throughout the south Texas region. A full list of the approved handlers is at www.Tx1015.com.

On Dec. 12, Galeazzi noted, “At four months out, it is hard to say what the spring onion season will look like. At this point, the crop looks great. Weather was very ideal during plantings and we’re optimistic for a mild winter in the region, which will keep the crop on schedule and healthy.”

This season, the acreage appears to be similar to years past, likely around 7,000 to 7,500 acres. Galeazzi noted “The vast majority of Texas onions are grown in the Rio Grande Valley and Uvlade-Wintergarden regions, alongside greens and melons grown in these areas as well.”

He said, “At this point, the supply looks very comparable to last year for Texas. Again, being several months out from the beginning of the season and onions still growing in the ground, it may be too early to speculate.”

Labor concerns
“Unfortunately, labor has been and continues to be a big challenge for our onion growers," said Galeazzi. "Texas onions are all hand-harvested, so that means our industry needs a considerable work force for both harvest and packing. In the last five or 10 years, the south Texas region has experienced fewer and fewer locally available workers.” He noted that this previously was a strength in the area.

“As a result, many of our growers are now using or considering use of the H2A program to bring in seasonal, temporary foreign-workers to ensure enough workers throughout the season. We anticipate this problem will only grow without legislative support, such as immigration reform," he said.

Other challenges
“Besides labor, Mother Nature is our biggest challenge just as it is with any fresh produce item grown in the open field. Beyond that, urbanization is perhaps the largest obstacle. Urbanization impacts the roadways around fields, the cost to access and farm land near cities, access to water — especially in drought years — and of course with urbanization comes employment opportunities outside of agricultural labor, which means increased competition for an already dwindling pool of available laborers.”

Galeazzi said, “Many of our Texas onion handlers also handle Mexico-grown onions. The advantages are increased supply by having a second source, offer onions longer by having product both before and after the Texas-onion season, and the efficient utilization of local resources. Since many of the shippers are based at the border, and Mexico onions must cross at the border as well, it makes sense to maximize onion warehouses, sales teams, etc., and run both Mexico and Texas onions through these facilities.”

USMCA
When Galeazzi spoke with The Produce News in December, the USMCA trade treaty had just been accepted by the U.S. legislators. Regarding this, he said, "We are pleased to hear the President and House-leadership have reached a deal to get USMCA passed. We have been big proponents of ‘Do No Harm’ and the importance, especially to the stability it will bring for future business investments, to North American supply chains for fresh produce. At this point, we urge our elected officials to act quickly and pass the legislation to bring USMCA into effect and put a rest to the uncertainty that has existed for the last several years.”