This is the time of the year that Texas onions take center stage. Several decades ago, noted agricultural researcher Leonard Pike of Texas A&M University developed the 1015 onion and put Texas on the onion map.

Named for the date around which it is planted (Oct. 15), this sweet onion and its offspring have given Texas a dominant position in the spring onion deal. The Texas onions come on as the Northwest is finishing up its storage crop and earlier than California, Vidalia, GA, and other areas begin their new season. This year’s crop is down a bit in acreage and grower-shippers were looking forward to a good market when contacted in mid-April, which is about the time the onions begin to make it to market.

But this year, the red hot lime market had everyone seeing green. Bad December weather in Mexico, which produces close to 95 percent of the Persian limes sold in the United States on an annual basis, saw a big gap in production that had both the Mexican domestic market and the U.S. market scrambling to fill their orders. “The market started going up in $5 increments and just never stopped,” said Ronnie Cohen, vice president of sales-member for Vision Import Group, River Edge, NJ.

By the middle of March, a carton of 200-count limes was bringing $90 to shippers. A month later, there were quotes in excess of $100 for that same size box. Cohen said growers had been stripping their trees for weeks chasing the hot market…and exacerbating the situation. Every time a lime was picked too early and not allowed to size, it meant an almost certain prolonging of the situation. Retailers tend to like 175-size limes, which means 175 of them come in a 40 pound carton. Those limes are typically sold at retail for a price of two or three for $1. If you are paying a hundred dollar bill or more for 175 of them, the math doesn’t pencil out.

And if growers are picking that fruit and creating a greater supply of 230-size limes, there are fewer limes sizing on the tree. Cohen did predict that the price would start to come down in May as new areas came into production and the economics of demand exceeds supply start to take hold and people cut back on their lime purchases.

Don Ed Holmes, owner of The Onion House, Weslaco, TX, said he would love to have the market the lime guys are enjoying but he’d hate to be the shipper holding the invoices when it comes crashing down and buyers start looking for adjustments. He said there is a lot of adjustment possibility in a $110 box of fruit.

But speaking about his expertise, he predicted the onion market will be pretty decent this year…though not approaching the heights of the lime market. He said acreage is down about 20 percent with normal yields. In mid-April, he said Mexican onion shipments were just about concluded so he thought the onion market had bottomed out at about $10-11 per carton.

As Texas moves forward in its season, Holmes expected a demand-exceeds-supply situation to come into play and for the market to strengthen. He predicted that by mid-May the market would be strong. “We are a little disappointed that it has stayed low as long as it has. With only about 20-30 loads crossing (from Mexico) each day, it should be higher.”

But Holmes said the Pacific Northwest is winding down its production and California only appears to have enough onions to take care of Western buyers, leaving the Midwest and East pretty much the domain of Texas for the next month.

Mike Davis of Tex Mex Sales in Weslaco, TX, concurred. “Our crop is really looking good,” he said.

He added that his firm will be shipping out of Texas well into June and predicted a good market would prevail for most of the season. He reasoned that most shippers in the Northwest were finished by mid-April and though California’s Imperial Valley would get under way by late April, they won’t have enough onions to compete against Texas in the East.