The supply of offshore melons is good at the moment. "There's no real shortage of fruit between all of the offshore shippers," says Justin Bootz with Legend Produce. "Everyone is steadily covering their contracts on cantaloupe and honeydew melons."
This is quite different from how the offshore deal for melons began this season. Early to mid-January, there were hardly any melons available and markets were hitting record levels–pricing on cantaloupes was $30+. "There was just so little supply in the beginning but things over the last month have leveled out and supply is good now," says Bootz.
Right now, cantaloupe and honeydew supply is coming from Honduras, where Legend Produce sources its fruit, but there's also industry supply from countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico (albeit the latter is mostly honeydew melons.) The offshore season began mid to late November and will run until mid-May.
Demand to pick up?
As for demand, it's been moderate. "There has been some bad weather across the country, some cold temperatures and rains in southern California and I don't think that helped movement," says Bootz, adding that the high pricing at the beginning of the offshore season would also have been a factor in slower movement at the retail level. "Now the market is leveling out and matching the supply and we're seeing prices come down. Hopefully, that will help the movement pick back up again."
As for what's ahead, Bootz believes the market will settle into normal production levels and pricing will stabilize and get back to historical norms. "I don't think it will get much lower but I don't think we'll see the same high prices we saw at the start of the deal," he says.
For more information:
Justin Bootz
Legend Produce
Tel: +1 (623) 298-3782
justin@legendproduce.com
www.legendproduce.com