Watermelon and corn markets in the East are elevated and promotions are on the line as the 4th of July approaches. “The markets are elevated to oversold. It’s going to be a pretty rough deal for corn and watermelon for the 4th of July because of this Georgia weather,” says Neil Mazal of East Coast Farms & Vegetables
Corn: Mazal says the corn market is damaged due to the wind and rain in Georgia which has caused a lot of the corn to be blown down. “The stuff that’s laying down in the water is definitely going to have problems. There are going to be cosmetic issues besides disease so the corn deal is a mess,” he says.
The deal is coming from Bainbridge, Camilla and south of Camilla, Georgia. There also may be limited availability from South Carolina. While there is corn in California, product from there tends to be tray-packed rather than open-bin bulk corn.
He says that corn shippers have handed back their holiday ads and aren’t going to be covering them under a force majeure. There are some quotes in the mid-$30s but generally pricing is at $25-$26 with very limited availability.
As for what’s ahead for the East, Mazal says the rain is likely putting a rapid close to the Georgia season. “They’ve had a horrible deal. New York isn’t ready and Indiana is maybe scratching but there’s no way they’ll have watermelon or corn yet,” he says.
Watermelon: Georgia watermelon harvest is impacted by rain but the growers are picking and there should be enough to cover orders for the 4th of July demand. There are concerns over cracked centers because the watermelon is growing too quickly. “The heart of the watermelon pops and has a little separation in the middle so that’s going to be happening,” says Mazal.
At the same time in terms of available supply, Florida supply is basically done while Mexican watermelon production is winding down and California production is still somewhat limited. “There are some personal watermelons around,” he says. “They’re elevating their market also because people are handing back ads and are scrambling looking for product.”
Looking ahead, after the 4th of July, the market will likely become more reasonable for both corn and watermelon with production coming on out of the Northern growing areas--price relief could be on its way then too.
However, then there are concerns about traction. “The chain stores don’t really promote whole watermelon anymore. You see a lot of prepared cut-up watermelon in containers in chain stores except for the holidays when there are bins on the floor of whole watermelons,” says Mazal. “They also don’t promote corn in the husk that much anymore. It makes a mess in the produce department and it’s a liability issue but you see a lot of tray-pack corn.”
For more information:
Neil Mazal
East Coast Farms & Vegetables
Tel: +1 (561) 951-0876
neil@eastcoastfarms.us
https://eastcoastfarms.us/