While it’s a slower start for watermelons in Mexico due to the cool weather, supplies are increasing steadily. “We’re about 10 days behind but it’s steady and there’s great size and great quality,” says Dennis Peterson of Riverbend Fresh LLC. “On the earlier melons with the cooler weather, there was a little bit of inconsistent quality but now it’s good.”
Shipping will likely go until late June from Mexico. Growing starts in Guaymas and it’s currently in southern Sonora and will transition to northern Sonora. “There will be some product coming into Yuma in a week or two and there will also be some domestic product starting up in Arizona and Coachella in a week or two.”
Meanwhile, demand is good and last week, demand strengthened. “The East Coast had some product but then they had a hiccup and demand shifted out here. They started pulling heavier and held this market up,” Peterson says. In all, pricing is firm right now and it’s anticipated to stay on that firmer side in the near future.
Memorial Day weekend outlook
Looking ahead at the Memorial Day weekend later this month, he says there have been a lot of ad requests for that long weekend period. “I think there will be supplies and advanced pricing is firmer than what the buyers are looking for. Whether they can hold those prices or not we’ll see,” says Peterson.
He does note there will be a planting gap ahead in the Central California region due to the rains and flooding earlier this year. “There are some later plantings anticipated to go sooner. They haven’t grown as much as they should and this is the 4th of July pull for the late June harvest. We’ll lean heavily on the desert regions to pick up the volume for that holiday,” he says, noting there could be a small shortage of supplies for the 4th of July and then by mid to late July there will be ample product.
For more information:
Dennis Peterson
Riverbend Fresh LLC.
Tel: +1 (559) 846-3320
[email protected]
http://riverbendfresh.com/