Not surprisingly, lower-priced personal melons, many of which are coming in from Central America, seem to be dominating sales in the winter months. “They take over because you’re not going to get $15 of watermelon anywhere here in Canada,” says Wilson. “And once the Personals stop, which is very soon, demand will switch over to the full-sized watermelons and the market will go up again.”
Prices seem unsteady
Right now prices seem to be fluctuating on the melons. “It depends on who and where has product they have to move, which is normal for this time of year,” he says. “It’s fluctuating by .10 cents/lb.”
That said, the push towards full-sized watermelons may still be a month or two away in Canada. “In the U.S., there’s a push in purchasing watermelons towards Easter but not in Canada,” Wilson says. “In Canada, it won’t be until the May 24th Victoria Day holiday. And as soon as the offshore stuff depletes itself and empties out the pipeline, then we’ll have demand. But until that happens, it’ll remain as is: very very slow movement with cautious replenishment.”
For more information:
Michael Wilson
National Produce Marketing Inc.
Tel: +1 (416)-259-0833
mike@nationalproduce.com
http://www.nationalproduce.com/