Watermelon sales are often tied to the outside temperature and as the country cools down, demand for the melon has also come off recently. This week, Legend Produce is wrapping up its return to watermelon, a commodity in which it hasn’t been active for more than a decade.
“We are always looking for opportunities to expand and grow. We’ve carved out our niche in cantaloupe and honeydew. However, getting into another commodity helps us remain more sustainable and generate that extra business throughout the year,” says Justin Bootz with Legend Produce LLC.
Legend Produce is finishing up its return to watermelon, a commodity in which it hasn’t been active for more than a decade.
The shipper started this fall with a small program on November 26 and is finishing this week. About six loads a week are being imported from Mexico through Nogales, Arizona. “When the deal first started, we were mostly getting 45-count bins. Now towards the tail end of the deal, sizing has shifted and we’re getting mostly 60-count bins and also packing those into 5-count cartons,” said Bootz. As colder temperatures have come in the growing areas, sizing and maturity have become a bit of an issue, as it tends to be for many growers and shippers of watermelon in the winter season.
Mid-March spring program start
Come mid-March, Legend will start its spring program by importing 50-60 loads a week of watermelon through the beginning of June.
While it’s working with a Mexican grower on importing this product, Legend Produce is also planning to grow a domestic watermelon crop of its own that it can transition to once the spring program ends in order to continue serving its customers.
Come mid-March, Legend will start its spring program by importing 50-60 loads a week of watermelon through the beginning of June.
As for demand for seedless watermelon, those cold temperatures have softened the demand recently. “When we started, demand was pretty good, possibly due to lower availability of watermelon in the market that week,” Bootz commented.
In all, he notes that the watermelon market can be a bit more volatile than cantaloupe. “Right now, pricing is on the lower end of the spectrum because of the decrease in demand,” says Bootz. “When we started, supplies were lower and demand was better, so we saw higher pricing.”
For more information:
Justin Bootz
Legend Produce
Tel: +1 (623) 298-3782
[email protected]
www.legendproduce.com