As the California melon crop phases out and Arizona production starts up, supplies of melons in the West are light. Prices for both cantaloupes and honeydews have been higher, partly due to less fruit available and partly due to fewer marketers selling melons.Supplies light during transition
“Supplies are still mainly coming from California, but Arizona will start producing beginning in October and California will transition out by mid-October,” said Barry Zwillinger of Legend Produce. “Supplies are as wide as we've seen all year, and they will stay light for another ten days.” In about two weeks, both cantaloupe and honeydew levels will be sufficient to shore up supply deficiencies.
Prices for a carton of size 5 cantaloupes from California's San Joaquin Valley have crept up to between $9.00 and $13.00, and the price per carton for Arizona fruit has been on par with that. Those prices will rise to between $10.00 and $14.00 by November, noted Zwillinger, which is lower than where they were at that time last year.
Acreage, number of handlers factors in pricing
“We've seen prices for cantaloupe that are higher than that for the past two years,” said Zwillinger, “because of a lack of yields and some quality issues.” As for honeydews, viruses and diseases cut down supplies. That, along with water shortages in California, led growers to reduce acreage and drove some growers to quit growing melons. As a result, though acreage devoted to honeydews in California is less than that from previous years, prices have been buoyed by the number of people who handle the fruit.
“There used to be up to 14 handlers of melons in the San Joaquin Valley, and now there are between eight and 10, so there are fewer people quoting melons,” said Zwillinger. “That, along with significant increases in growing costs, which have increased more in the last two years than in the previous 10 years, is a big contributor to current pricing.”
For more information:
Barry Zwillinger
Legend Produce
+1 623 298 3782