Excitement is building at Curry & Co. as the onset of the 2014 Vidalia onion season draws near. “We feel there will be strong demand for Vidalia onions and other sweet onions all season long,” President Matt Curry told The Produce News. “We have already had a lot of discussions on Vidalia onions with our retail partners, and we are hoping and expecting a strong pull for the entire season.”

Curry & Co. is headquartered in Brooks, OR, and is a year-round marketer of sweet onions. Product is sourced both domestically and abroad.

Curry said Vidalia growers experienced cooler-than-normal winter weather during February. “March has brought us numerous nice days along with some rain,” he went on to say. “Overall, our onions have responded well to this year’s weather, and we are seeing nice quality growth in our fields.”

Curry & Co. is expecting to market a quality crop of Vidalia onions this season. Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer Michael Hively and Onion Sales Director Richard Pazderski are seen here inspecting a Vidalia field. (Photo courtesy of Curry & Co.)The company expects an uptick in Vidalia onion production this season on the order of 10 to 20 percent. “The sweet onion market is pretty tight right now as Southern Hemisphere imports are either done or rapidly winding down, and Texas isn’t slated to start until mid-March,” he commented. “There are nice quality Mexico sweets available, but volumes have been less than anticipated with strong demand creating a hot market. We feel the start of the Vidalia onion market will be tight. But we want to emphasize to retailers to have promotions planned throughout the summer because we will have promotable volumes.”

With time still in the hopper prior to the harvest, Curry expects “potential for plenty of jumbos throughout the season. Weather will help determine the quality. But currently, the health of our onion plants is great, and we are expecting great quality.”

Curry & Co. markets Vidalias throughout North America. “The marketing window varies a little depending on the region,” Curry stated. “Vidalia onions dominate the East Coast and the Southeast during their season. But they do compete against several regional onions such as Walla Walla Sweets during the summer months. Overall, our Vidalia season runs from mid-April into August, and we identify the best sweet onion for the market at any given time for our customer base.”

As is true for other growers and marketers, Curry was awaiting the decision regarding the actual start date of the shipping season. “We do support the industry’s stand on a specific date to officially start the season and feel this will help us as an industry distribute the right product to consumers,” he commented. “Of course, our crop is controlled in large part by Mother Nature so we know this is a first step in the right direction for consistency. But we need to be careful not to have a line drawn in the sand because our harvest dates can vary greatly depending on the actual growing season.”

Curry said Vidalia onions continue as the most recognized sweet onion variety nationally. “I think you are going to see a lot of emphasis on social media with this year’s Vidalia crop and the increased use of food bloggers getting the word out that Vidalia onions are available. It is a seasonal crop that creates excitement and will continue to grow.”

On the retail side, Curry said retailers continue to push to increase rings at the register with Vidalia sales. “They want to maximize this category and catch the excitement of the season,” he noted. “During the season, you will often see two displays of Vidalia onions: one with the primary onion displays and a secondary ‘stand-alone’ display focused specifically on Vidalia onions.”