Low-priced Chinese garlic has sold at depressed prices on the U.S. market for most of the last several years, according to John Layous, a partner in The Garlic Co. in Bakersfield, CA. “In the last seven or eight years, we have only had one year, which was two years ago,” that Chinese garlic commanded high prices, he said. With that exception, there have been “six or seven years of very depressed markets for Chinese garlic.”

That, of course, affects the market for California garlic.

But Mr. Layous has some optimism for the 2012 season.

COALINGA, CA — Double D Farms, which is headquartered in Fresno, CA, but has farming, packing and cooling operations here, is involved in the production of several commodities, one of which is garlic. In the garlic category, “we specialize in organic garlic,” said Gurdeep Billan, director of sales.

The garlic is not packed on premise but nearby at the Harris Fresh facility,” he said.

The company’s 2012 harvest was already completed when The Produce News visited the facility July 20.

Maurice A. Auerbach Inc., which handles whole and peeled garlic along with a wide assortment of specialty products, relocated late last year into a new warehouse in Secaucus, NJ, that is about twice the size of its previous South Hackensack facility.

The 2012 California garlic crop for the David E. Grimes Co. in Hollister, CA, is “one of the nicest crops we have had in quite a few years,” said David Grimes, proprietor, July 27. “Quality looks very nice,” due to the fact that there has been “no rain on the crop, during harvest or before harvest.”

Pacific Trellis Fruit LLC, which is headquartered in Reedley, CA, and has branch offices in Nogales, AZ, and Gloucester, NJ, has historically been strong in the marketing of imported table grapes from Chile and Peru as well as from the company’s own ranches in Mexico.

The company has generally had a small California grape deal as well. But this year, Pacific Trellis is expanding its domestic program significantly, according to Angela Eastham, who is on sales in the company’s Reedley office.

The 2012 onion season has kicked into high gear with shipments of onions dubbed “super sweet” by Bill (Sweet Willie) Brownfield, Sweet Clover Produce Marketing director in Walla Walla, WA.

The onions tested at L-2 by AgSource of Umatilla, OR, Mr. Brownfield said July 17.