Murakami's Kitamura says orderly marketing key to 2012 movement
Murakami's Kitamura says orderly marketing key to 2012 movement
Murakami Produce General Manager Grant Kitamura told The Produce News in early September that good marketing and patience are important in moving this year's Treasure Valley onion crop.
From his Ontario, OR, office, Mr. Kitamura said the current crop is of high quality and good size.
"I have confidence in the quality," he said. "But we have to hold together as marketers. We have to be orderly, and we have to be patient."
New-crop onions
Murakami Produce General Manager Grant Kitamura and Sales Manager Chris Woo. started shipping somewhat early valleywide, and Murakami's first loads went out Aug. 10, which Mr. Kitamura said was five to 10 days ahead of normal schedule.
"We had early planting in March," he said. "And we had a good growing season, although we did see excessive heat during the summer."
Sizes on the onions going out prior to mid-September were "probably a little smaller, but we will have all sizes" when the crop is in storage," Mr. Kitamura added.
He said the Treasure Valley could be down slightly in total yields, but he said Murakami, which is in a marketing partnership with Potandon Produce of Idaho Falls, ID, has volume on a par with past seasons.
"Some growers lost a few onions to hail, but that was early enough that they were able to replant with beans and other crops," he said.
The company's mix remains at 92 percent yellow Spanish Sweets, with 6-7 percent in reds and the balance in whites.
Mr. Kitamura said trucks had been readily available for the August and September loads, and he said rail would begin in late September.
"One thing about this year's onion market is that worldwide I understand that China is off and Japan is up. So we need to do a good job managing prices and marketing our onions," he said.
One of the larger shippers out of the Treasure Valley, Murakami follows strict food-safety and traceability protocol. The company is a member of Certified Onions Inc., and its onions are checked in the field for chemical residue and off-label use and also for minimum residual limits.
New custom packs are available at the Ontario facility that consists of 250,000 square feet insulated on-site storage 75,000 bins, each with capacity for 1,500 pounds of field-run onions.
