Onion production is ramping up for New Mexico’s 17 shippers. “Many of those are also growers, while other growers broker their onions,” said Katie Goetz, public information officer for the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.

Onion movement began early this year. “The shipping season started in mid-May this year and will run through late August for the most part, although some sheds will ship through mid-September,” she said.

Goetz said production is primarily concentrated in Doña Ana, Luna, and Sierra counties.New Mexico onion production is concentrated in Doña Ana, Luna, and Sierra counties. Good weather translated to an early start to the 2014 shipping season with initial supplies moving in mid-May. The season is expected to continue through mid-September. (Photo courtesy of Andrea Rojas/New Mexico State University)

“New Mexico onion growers produce mostly yellows, but there are some whites and some reds,” she said. “The major varieties of commercially grown New Mexico onions include Grano, Granex, Sweet Spanish and mid-summer hybrids such as the popular Nu-Mex variety.”

The majority of these onions are conventional.  

Weather conditions have been conducive to onion production. “We had mild temperatures in the fall and winter, and it’s been a warm spring — all good for yield and quality,” Goetz stated.

New Mexico onion producers primarily service the retail sector. “A few shippers also sell them through the foodservice and/or processing channels,” Goetz noted. Onions are sold throughout the United States and exported to Canada and Mexico.

Onions are among New Mexico’s top ten cash producing crops.

On June 13, the National Potato and Onion Report provided data about the 2014 New Mexico onion crop. Demand was described as moderate, and the market was reported as steady. Pricing for yellow Grano 50-pound sacks of super colossals was $11-12; colossals were $9-10; jumbos were $8-9; and mediums were $6-8.  Repack sizes were $5.50-7.

Fifty-pound sacks of jumbo white onions sold for $12-13, and mediums sold for $10-12. Twenty-five pound sacks of Red Globe jumbos sold for $7-8, and mediums sold for $5-7.

This past March, NASS issued its report, Vegetables 2013 Summary. According to the report, growers planted a total of 6,200 acres to summer non-storage onions in 2013, up 13 percent from 2012.

Growers harvested 6,100 acres in 2013, also up 13 percent from the previous crop year. The production level for 2013 was set at approximately 2.6 million hundredweight, down 8 percent from 2012. Yield per acre in 2013 was 430 hundredweight. The value of production in 2013 was $40.9 million.