Walla Walla sweet onions sit ready to be put into bins at Walla Walla River Farms in Walla Walla, Wash. Yields range from average to above-average, but market uncertainty and a larger overall market supply are keeping onion prices soft, said Michael J. Locati, grower and president of the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee. (Courtesy Michael J. Locati)

WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Washington’s handful of Walla Walla sweet onion farmers are right in the thick of harvest.

“I would say we have an average to slightly-above average crop,”  said Michael J. Locati, president of the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee.

Harvest kicked off June 5, about a week to 10 days earlier than usual, Locati said. It will run through the first week of August.

About 10 farmers raise the popular niche specialty on 500 acres. Walla Walla sweets are protected by a federal marketing order, which regulates the handling of sweet onions grown in the Walla Walla Valley of southeast Washington and northeast Oregon.

Prices are comparable to last year, at about $24 for 40 pounds.

“There’s a bit of deflation out there,” Locati said. “There’s a lot of onions on the market right now. There’s been a little slower demand. We’re trying to adjust harvest accordingly.”

Farmers have been able to find workers to hand-pick the onions, he said. With temperatures predicted to hit more than 100 degrees for several days during the week of July 7, harvest start times may move back from 4 a.m. to earlier, he said.

“We’re blessed to have a crop, we’re blessed to have the people here to help take care of it,” Locati said.

More onions

“Margins are getting squeezed as inflation goes up and we keep the same price as last year,” Locati said. “We’re trying to move more units, and then it’s tough because then there’s a lot of onions on the market.”
It can be hard to demand a price premium when there’s uncertainty in the marketplace, he said.

“Uncertainty creates a lot more uncertainty,” he said. “It doesn’t help that there’s more onions out there.”

When there’s more onions than they can sell as Walla Walla sweets, farmers sell the extras at the regular fresh onion market price.

“When you’re trying to get a premium and you’re hand-harvesting, and then the general onion market is mostly machine-harvested …” Locati said.  “When the discrepancy between the regular onion market and your premium gets larger, it gets harder to sell the premium.”
Last year, that fresh onion price was about $14 for a 50-pound sack. This year, it’s about half of that, Locati said.

“When the regular onion market supply exceeds demand, the price of all onions suffers,” Locati said.

Reddish-hued rosé Walla Walla sweet onions represent up to 15% of the market.  Harvest began two weeks early for the sub-section of the niche onion.

Locati was just finishing up harvesting some July 2, and will harvest some later-transplanted rosés for the rest of July and the summer.