GLENNVILLE, GA - There is never a day when I am not using onions. The aroma of onions cooking elicits many a compliment, and the flavor it adds gives me more than enough reason to continue keeping it in my basket. G&R Farms is keeping pace with the rising demand of at-home chefs, and I was more than interested to glean some insights from Vice President Walt Dasher.

“We began our harvest the last week of March in preparation for the April 12 start date, and things have been moving right along with harvest now as we move into our main season varieties,” Walt imparts on me. “So far, we haven’t seen any concerns with quality or size, and things are looking to be similar to last season.”

News that comes with some relief for the grower, I’m sure, as Walt tells me that there was some very cold weather on March 12. As that can potentially impact G&R Farms’ late season crop varieties in terms of yields, the supplier is keeping an eye on harvests over the next couple of weeks to determine where things stand.

Demand for this versatile category has remained strong amongst shoppers, as this staple root veg lends itself to a variety of dishes. Walt says this falls in line with other grocery trends, as essentially all staple items in produce are seeing big growth numbers across the board.

“Consumers are purchasing more sweet onions over the past couple of years and are learning how special they are—especially from a cooking and recipe standpoint,” continues Walt. “We feel very good about future demand, even with inflation. There will be some dips in overall unit sales, but just a touch in my opinion, as this will be the case for every item in the grocery store. Overall, sales will be up due to per case pricing increases due to overall higher input cost.”

With the market being driven by input and higher freight costs, higher pricing will cause pressure on everything from packaging materials to labor, not to mention fuel and freight pricing. However, Walt assures that the grower is doing all it can to keep its customers in mind to maintain competitive pricing.

“I am looking for as many ways as possible to be more efficient across our operation, from the growing side to the management side, so we can offer the very best pricing we can,” Walt explains. “I know consumers are getting hit from every side of the financial marketplace due to the inflationary situation, and consumers will spend their money more wisely today compared to a year ago, but the big elephant in the room for everyone is fuel cost and the oil marketplace. This will be the driving factor for the days ahead.”

ANUK will continue to report on the movements in the market, so keep checking back for the latest.

G&R Farms