EDINBURG, TX - Retailers have been working hard to keep shelves stocked with fruits and vegetables to keep up with high demands. One of the more popular produce items in demand right now is the onion due to its hardiness and long shelf-life. I tapped onion experts at Little Bear Produce to gauge how the company is responding to the high onion demand while staying on top of its other commodities being harvested.

“As of right now, we’re probably about 80 percent through our greens crop and our cabbage crop. For our celery, we’re about 90 percent through, and we’re just getting started with our Texas onions,” Trent Bishop, Vice President of Sales, told me. “Then, we’ll start on both our Texas watermelon and honeydews around the first week of May.”

Trent touted a very cooperative Mother Nature this season, who ushered in a nice late winter and early spring. The warmer temperatures down in Texas have resulted in the grower pushing its celery out a little bit earlier in order to harvest the crop before the weather gets too hot. The weather has also been conducive for Little Bear’s greens, cabbages, melons, and onions.

“We had one cold snap about three weeks ago that just hovered right at freezing for a few hours, and we were afraid it was going to nip our melons,” Trent continued, “but we were able to come out of it with no problem.”

Little Bear Produce’s proprietary HoneySweet onions are grown in three different countries and three different states to bring that year-round mild sweetness to retailers and consumers. With the quality of the company’s products receiving high demand, Trent further stated the company is also open to co-branding with its retail partners.

And as consumers buy more produce during this time, I asked Trent what his thoughts were on the current market.

“I think with the change in everybody's eating and buying habits, this trend of healthy produce consumption is going to go be here for a while. I believe a lot of people are going to continue to eat based on the habits we're forming right now,” Trent said. “I can see retail sales numbers being above average for the next quarter or two, based on current trends.”

AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the latest updates in the fresh veg and fruit industry.

Little Bear Produce