As anticipated, there looks to be plenty of watermelon supply across the country right now. "There have been extra plantings in California and the market got weak due to those extra plantings," says Dennis Peterson of Riverbend Fresh. "We thought that everything would hit in late July and it did."
Riverbend Fresh, which could have continued to ship watermelon from California's West side, has finished up its shipping from the region. "There was too much competition in the end here for not much," says Peterson, who says it will source watermelon when needed for the remainder of this part of the season.
Local deals and demand
As for demand? It is flat and also scattered throughout the country given there are local watermelon programs throughout the U.S. "Pricing though is close to breaking even for many–there could also be deals around for less and there may even be watermelon left behind," says Peterson.
Looking ahead, demand could remain flat given the amount of product available. "There's one more holiday here, Labor Day, and that will be the last of the melon push and then retailers shrink their displays on watermelons and shift to fall produce," says Peterson. October is when the supply will transition back down to Arizona and Mexico and the winter will also see offshore supply come on.
For more information:
Dennis Peterson
Riverbend Fresh, LLC.
Tel: +1 (559) 846-3320
[email protected]