In California onions meant for industry are already being mechanically harvested, but onions meant for the fresh market are still mostly harvested by Mexican workers. The vulnerability of short day onions is not yet suitable for machines, but according to sales manager Bradford Sumner of Colandri SonRise Farms that will probably change in the coming years due to rising labour costs.
Twenty per cent day trading
SonRise Farms cultivates yellow, white and red onions in the Antelope Valley, which also lent its name to the Antelope brand. The cultivator mostly focuses on the higher segment and supplies to the main supermarkets in Southern California, but the onions are sold throughout the country and are also increasingly sold to export markets such as Australia, Mexico and the Middle East. “About 80 per cent of our trade is programmed, the remaining part is for day trading,” Sumner explains during a visit from Hazera’s Onion Study Tour. Export of American onions to Europe is, according to him, definitely an option.
SonRise Farms focuses on white onions. Like many of the red onions, these are cultivated in the Antelope Valley. Yellow onions are obtained by the company from the northwest of the country. According to Sumner this was a tough year because of the heat with, among other things, long periods with temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius. SonRise Farms has a state-of-the-art packing station at its disposal. Currently the company is selling its last onions from the harvest that has been in storage since the end of October last year.
