There is greater optimism around imported melons from Guatemala. "We're in our spring growing season and everything that's coming in now has been grown under perfect conditions," says Tom Ferguson, vice-president of sales at Classic Fruit Company. "The first three months of our season were heavily impacted by the effects of Tropical Storm Sara and those issues lasted for approximately twelve weeks. Fortunately, we are past that threshold now."
Late February saw new production come on from Guatemala and the cantaloupe and honeydew melons are arriving with premium sizing – 9s and larger on cantaloupe and 5s and larger on honeydew. "Quality on new arrivals this month has been fantastic with higher colored fruit on the cantaloupe with internal Brix levels of 14-16 percent," says Ferguson.
All of Classic Fruit Company's fruit is from Guatemala right now and will continue through most of May. "We have a lot of year-round contracts that require us to stay in continuous supply, and our program is set up to make sure we can seamlessly bridge the transition from offshore to the desert in Arizona," says Ferguson. Classic Fruit's joint program with Westside Produce is scheduled to begin in Yuma, Arizona just before Memorial Day.
Scaling back production
Overall, there is less production coming in this season compared to last year at this time. "Some growers intentionally scaled back on production but marketwise we're consistent with where we were last year. Even with less production, a lot of that had to do with those three months of low supply when higher pricing was realized. Retail pricing had increased so demand was lower than where it had been in the past," Ferguson says.
That said, as supply has increased, retailers are actively looking to promote over the next month with Easter being late this year. "We came off record pricing in January and February and things have settled down. There was a much-needed correction and we're reestablishing pricing levels to be promotable with good production on the horizon," he says.
This summer will also mark the fourth season of the melon alliance between Classic Fruit and Westside Produce which helps both companies provide an uninterrupted supply of fresh cantaloupe and honeydews to customers 365 days a year from the major growing regions – Arizona, California and Guatemala.
For more information:
Tom Ferguson
Classic Fruit Company
Tel: +1 (954) 426-0775
tferguson@classicfruit.com
www.classicfruit.com