It’s almost hard to believe now, but there was a time when sweet onions were thought of as a seasonal commodity —and that season was generally considered to be April through (maybe) August as supplies of sweet Georgia Vidalias were available.

Years ago, Vidalia onion growers like John Shuman of Shuman Produce Inc. in Reidsville, GA, realized sweet onions were a product consumers wanted year-round.

Unable to tweak Mother Nature to his schedule, Shuman decided to look for potential sweet onion production areas throughout the Western Hemisphere that could produce product comparable to what Vidalia brings to the table each spring. Reaching into Texas, Mexico, Peru and ultimately Chile, Shuman found what he was looking for — land capable of producing the flat, granex sweet onion his company has become famous for under its “RealSweet” brand.

The result has been a bountiful year-round sweet onion deal from one of Georgia’s prime purveyors of sweet onions.

“We consider ourselves very blessed to have seen our company grow from a seasonal Vidalia onion farming operation into a year-round international program over the last three decades,” Shuman said.

Shuman’s genius was the result of looking for other areas where excellent sweet onions could be grown from Vidalia stock that took advantage of the opposite growing seasons of the northern and southern hemispheres. In 1998, he discovered that Peru was such a place and an international enterprise was launched.

Shuman has since become one of the predominant importers of Peruvian and Chilean sweet onions during the Vidalia off-season, bringing in a product that closely mirrors Vidalia’s finest, right down to shape, feel, taste and texture.

An unexpected benefit of that has been an increase in traffic at the Port of Savannah, GA, where Shuman’s international sweet onions arrive for distribution throughout the United States.

In Fiscal Year 2014, Shuman Produce accounted for a staggering 29 percent of the market share of onion imports through the Port of Savannah, or roughly 1,280 TEUs (20-foot equivalent container units.)

Once they’re offloaded at the Port of Savannah, Shuman’s sweet onions make a short trip by truck to the company’s distribution facilities in Reidsville. There, they are held in controlled atmosphere storage for eventual distribution though the United States and Canada.

It’s a partnership that works both ways: Georgia ports give Shuman access to an international supply. Shuman in turn provides a significant portion of Georgia port business.

“The Georgia Ports Authority is committed to providing the best service and experience for our customers,” said Georgia Ports Authority Chief Commercial Officer Cliff Pyron. “Supporting local Georgia businesses such as Shuman Produce as they expand their operations internationally is part of GPA’s central mission of economic development.