Early finish to domestic melon season

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The California melon season has wrapped up earlier than anticipated. “There was a lot of heat early in the season. Some record temperatures caused some issues such as the sets to be lighter so in the end, the market got pretty short,” says Daren Van Dyke of Five Crowns.

Five Crowns finished its last harvest on Friday, a time when most domestic shipping has finished.

Looking ahead in melons, the offshore season looks to be starting on time. Right now, while there is cantaloupe supply, there is some tightness on honeydew melons but the market is especially tight on watermelons–mini and regular watermelons. “We’re getting ready to transition from Hermosillo to Jalisco but at the end of the crop, the quality is not great,” says Van Dyke, adding that the cold weather in Mexico is spurring on a gap in supply.

Strong pricing in the gap
That’s leaving the watermelon market with significantly strong pricing in the upper $300 FOB. “I don’t see that changing here for at least the next two or three weeks,” says Van Dyke, adding that once production is underway in Jalisco, that will help improve watermelon availability. However quality will be on watch.

As for demand, there was good demand ahead of Thanksgiving but this is also the time of year that melon demand softens because consumers are switching over to more fall fruit, or demand will shift from full-size watermelons to minis. “Retailers who do their in-store cut program, they still want to keep big seedless because they do their trimming,” says Van Dyke, adding that there is also still processing demand for larger watermelons. Watermelon volume is largely driven by processors and cut programs.

Back domestically, production on melons will start again in May for Five Crowns in California’s Imperial Valley with one of its ranches right by the Salton Sea, a location that keeps temperatures more temperate. Cantaloupe production starts in the region first followed by Honeydews, as well as specialty melons such as the Picasso and the Picasso Sunrise.

For more information:
Daren Van Dyke
Five Crowns
Tel: +1 (760) 344-1933
[email protected]
www.FiveCrowns.com

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Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies