From the Oregon Trail to the Port of Portland, Oregon history brims with instances of East meeting West, West meeting East. The Oregon produce industry mirrors this pattern with a broad range of fruits and vegetables grown across the state, from juicy sweet cherries and pears to bumper crops of onions and potatoes.
The Beaver State also enjoys a few industry milestones, from the very first Bing cherry trees in the 1800s to the first fresh blueberry exports from the United States to South Korea in 2011. A cascade of Pacific Northwest fruit shipments followed, moving by sea and air to Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Plentiful production and successful marketing have brought rising recognition to Oregon’s growers and suppliers, leading to expansion for some and ramped up competition for all—as wholesale, retail, and foodservice formats vie for consumer dollars.
Growing Regions & Top Crops
Eastern Oregon is the hub of the state’s summer storage onion industry, with more than half of the region’s onion acreage located in Malheur County. Growers here, along with others in Umatilla, Morrow, and Marion counties contribute to the state’s ranking as third in the nation for production, providing 21 percent of the U.S.’s onion supply in various colors and sizes.
Grant Kitamura, partner at Baker & Murakami Produce Company, in Ontario, is particularly proud of his company’s industry contributions. “We’re famous for large onions—Jumbo, Colossal, and Super Colossal,” he says. As a shipper and exporter, Baker & Murakami handles yellow, white, and red onions from its own acreage and several multigenerational growers in the Treasure Valley region of Oregon and southwestern Idaho.
Umatilla and Klamath counties are leading potato production areas, contributing to Oregon’s rank as sixth in the nation. Uma-tilla County is also a major apple and watermelon producer, and grows sweet cherries and pears as well. Marion County, to the west of Umatilla, is home to state capital Salem, and grows potatoes, onions, and nearly half of Oregon’s garlic.
West of Umatilla is Hood River County, the largest pear production region in the United States. Not only is Oregon ranked second in the nation for production, but pears are the state fruit. The next county to the east, Wasco, is home to the famed The Dalles area, a top growing region for sweet cherries.
While potatoes, pears, and onions are Oregon’s most valuable produce crops, followed by blueberries, cherries, and apples, the state leads the nation in smaller-category commodities as well, such as blackberries, boysenberries, and rhubarb. Other production of note includes snap beans (most for processing), raspberries, strawberries, and cranberries, grown near the Pacific Coast.
From the Oregon Trail to the Port of Portland, Oregon history brims with instances of East meeting West, West meeting East. The Oregon produce industry mirrors this pattern with a broad range of fruits and vegetables grown across the state, from juicy sweet cherries and pears to bumper crops of onions and potatoes.
The Beaver State also enjoys a few industry milestones, from the very first Bing cherry trees in the 1800s to the first fresh blueberry exports from the United States to South Korea in 2011. A cascade of Pacific Northwest fruit shipments followed, moving by sea and air to Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Plentiful production and successful marketing have brought rising recognition to Oregon’s growers and suppliers, leading to expansion for some and ramped up competition for all—as wholesale, retail, and foodservice formats vie for consumer dollars.
Growing Regions & Top Crops
Eastern Oregon is the hub of the state’s summer storage onion industry, with more than half of the region’s onion acreage located in Malheur County. Growers here, along with others in Umatilla, Morrow, and Marion counties contribute to the state’s ranking as third in the nation for production, providing 21 percent of the U.S.’s onion supply in various colors and sizes.
Grant Kitamura, partner at Baker & Murakami Produce Company, in Ontario, is particularly proud of his company’s industry contributions. “We’re famous for large onions—Jumbo, Colossal, and Super Colossal,” he says. As a shipper and exporter, Baker & Murakami handles yellow, white, and red onions from its own acreage and several multigenerational growers in the Treasure Valley region of Oregon and southwestern Idaho.
Umatilla and Klamath counties are leading potato production areas, contributing to Oregon’s rank as sixth in the nation. Uma-tilla County is also a major apple and watermelon producer, and grows sweet cherries and pears as well. Marion County, to the west of Umatilla, is home to state capital Salem, and grows potatoes, onions, and nearly half of Oregon’s garlic.
West of Umatilla is Hood River County, the largest pear production region in the United States. Not only is Oregon ranked second in the nation for production, but pears are the state fruit. The next county to the east, Wasco, is home to the famed The Dalles area, a top growing region for sweet cherries.
While potatoes, pears, and onions are Oregon’s most valuable produce crops, followed by blueberries, cherries, and apples, the state leads the nation in smaller-category commodities as well, such as blackberries, boysenberries, and rhubarb. Other production of note includes snap beans (most for processing), raspberries, strawberries, and cranberries, grown near the Pacific Coast.
Conventional & Organic The Willamette River, flowing south from Portland, is the reason for Oregon’s outsized influence on so many crops. With mountains bordering three sides of the river’s valley, this unique geography creates ideal microclimates for both conventional and organic crops. The valley’s alluvial, volcanic soil and steady water supply also contribute to consistent, high-quality crops.
Chuck Botsford, president of Botsford & Goodfellow, Inc. in Portland, handles a wide variety of fruits and vegetables from asparagus and blackberries to garlic and rhubarb. “We ship a lot of rhubarb,” shares Botsford, to both U.S. and Western Canadian clients. “Radishes, rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, beets—all come from the Willamette Valley,” he says.
The Willamette Valley supplies similar organics as well. “Primarily, we do all the leafy row crop items west of the Casca-des,” explains Mike Neubeck, director of purchasing for Organically Grown Company, in Eugene. “Broccoli and root crops are big,” he says, and “there are some small organic apple deals up the Columbia River Gorge,” he adds.
Retailers & Consumers
Portland, Oregon’s largest city, is known as a foodie haven replete with fusion cuisine, progressive grocers and co-ops, trendy eateries, and health-conscious consumers. But shippers and receivers here say strong fresh produce demand is driven by something simple to quantify: sheer numbers. “I think we’ve seen demand/growth mainly due to the Oregon population growing,” says Botsford.
Retailers have jumped in to feed the masses. Costco, headquartered in Washing-ton state, has a huge presence; Walmart is in Portland, as is discounter Grocery Outlet. National chains in the heavily populated I-5 corridor include Albertsons/Safeway, Kroger’s Fred Meyer and QFC banners, WinCo, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s. East of the Cascades, Northwest Grocers has Thriftway and Select stores throughout the state.
Consolidation shifted the retailer landscape in western Oregon. “Safeway and Albertsons went from two distribution centers to one, two groups of buyers to one,” observes Botsford. Idaho-based WinCo, also operating under its Waremart banner, has opened more stores. “WinCo is a fairly young company, compared to the others; they’re growing here,” he adds.
Smaller, specialty grocers and food co-ops are plentiful in Portland, where multistore chains include Green Zebra Grocery, Zupan’s Markets, Natural Grocers, and New Seasons Market. Some of these chains extend a store or two to markets like Ashland, Bend, Corvallis, and Salem. Eugene is also a specialty grocer hotbed, with Market of Choice maintaining four locations.
Sourcing organics has become increasingly price-sensitive. “Pricing point consciousness has become more acute in the last year or two,” observes Neubeck. High produce volume makes surpluses and seconds inevitable, and Oregon produce grower-shippers are big supporters of foodbanks. “Recently, the Portland area foodbank got some funds to pay for freight, to return a little bit to growers for handling and getting product out,” says Neubeck.
Trade Trends: Imports & Exports
Oregon exports nearly $2 billion in annual agricultural products, with fruits and vegetables claiming 25 percent of shipments. Many ship to nearby ports of call in Canada and Mexico, while others go to Asia, the European Union, and the Middle East. Top exports include cherries, blueberries, cranberries, pears, apples, potatoes, and onions.
Points of departure and transportation mode vary by crop. “Oregon ships fresh potatoes and onions to Canada and Mexico, mostly by truck,” notes Botsford. The same is true for root crops, sweet corn, and watermelon to Canada, while Mexico is the largest onion and potato importer. Potatoes and onions also ship via container ship to Korea, Japan, Latin America, Taiwan, and Philippines.
Fresh apple and pear exports move primarily by sea. Pacific Rim countries, India, and Latin America are the top destinations for Oregon-grown apples. Mexico is rebounding as an apple export destination, after changes in import duties (though ongoing trade negotiations could have an impact). Mexico is also Oregon’s biggest pear export destination, served by truck. Pears also ship by sea to Brazil, China, Latin America, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates.
New Asia markets and additional freight flights from Portland continue to spur exports. Japan, South Korea, and China are important markets for Oregon cherries and blueberries, with growth in fresh blackberries as well. Other Pacific Rim countries like Vietnam, as well as Middle East markets also receive cherries and berries from the Pacific Northwest.
Challenges: Old & New Oregon’s fresh deal faces the same challenges as anywhere—weather, labor, and transportation—with some regional distinctions. Managing temperature and rainfall variations can be difficult for Willamette Valley growers. “A really wet spring made for a late start in 2017,” recalls Neubeck. “And last summer we had some really hot spells; nothing catastrophic, just slight disruptions.”
Some crops, however, benefited from the high heat. “It was good for watermelons at harvest; the crop was large,” recalls Botsford. The 2017 potato crop was also stellar. “It’s one of the best potato crops we’ve ever had, volume-wise, and we have a very good potato market,” he adds.
Winter snows and freezes can damage tree fruit and berry crops, and industry infrastructure. In Eastern Oregon, onion shippers are still recovering from building collapses after huge snowfalls in early 2017.
Storage sheds were widely affected and a lack of construction labor delayed rebuilding. Some viewed the rebuilding as an opportunity for expansion: Baker & Murakami installed a new packing line this season and Kitamura says, “All of our capacity is up.”
Still Lacking labor Harvest labor remains highly challenging statewide. Growers understand how to use the H2-A guest worker program, but crops compete with each other for seasonal help. “We’ve definitely had people back away from crops that have high labor demands,” says Neubeck.
Groups representing the industry, like the Northwest Horticultural Council, generally support comprehensive immigration reform including an improved guestworker program and a pathway to legal status for the current workforce.
Eastern Oregon also has transportation challenges. “We’ve had a shortage of labor and, at times, had trouble getting truck transportation,” notes Kitamura.
The Ontario-area onion industry is looking forward to construction of a new, multimodal rail hub. “Oregon passed HB 2017 this year, which allocates funds to develop and build the facility,” he says. The bill allocates $26 million for the Treasure Valley Intermodal Facility, with plans to be developed by January 2020.
Final Words Whether you’re going East to West or West to East, Oregon’s suppliers continue to surpass challenges to deliver high-value fresh fruit and vegetables to the global market.
Most in the industry take pride in their day-to-day hurdles to provide perishables to customers near and far.
“Oregon growers pay attention to quality and food safety,” Botsford points out, but more importantly, he notes, “They go out of their way to get it done right.”
Images: Erica Finstad, Christopher Boswell, Bridget Calip, Marc BruxelleArtist/Shutterstock.com
