The supply of watermelon right now looks to be well matched with demand. "It's not tight but at the same time, I'm not sensing an overabundance of supply either," says Justin Bootz with Legend Produce.
Right now, the grower-shipper has seedless watermelon bins and cartons arriving from Mexico. "There was some colder weather at the beginning of spring in Mexico that affected the start of cantaloupe and watermelon. That said, the timing of the season seems to be pretty normal," says Bootz.
Some of the Legend Produce team in the field with watermelons.
On top of product from Mexico, there is also fruit from states such as Florida and Texas and more local deals are starting to emerge as well. "We'll have domestic watermelon starting early to mid-June out of Brawley, California, and then in late June and July, we'll have watermelon out of Arizona," says Bootz, noting this is the company's second year with a watermelon program that continues to grow.
Planning for the 4th of July
Demand is good and movement looked fairly typical leading into the Memorial Day holiday last week. That movement was supported by good retail promotions. "Now the orders are returning more to normal levels now that we're past the holiday," says Bootz, adding that supply will be promotable for the next summer holiday featuring watermelon–the 4th of July. "Late June and the whole month of July we will have really good volume coming out of Arizona and will be looking to promote. Most watermelon growers in the U.S. know that that holiday is one of the biggest movers of watermelon and their schedules have that in mind."
The company will have domestic watermelon starting early to mid-June out of Brawley, California.
So where is all of this leaving pricing? With supply and demand fairly well matched, it's a good market right now and in line with average pricing year over year.
For more information:
Justin Bootz
Legend Produce
Tel: +1 (623) 298-3782
[email protected]
www.legendproduce.com