Demand on papayas right now has, not surprisingly, slowed down. “That’s to be expected with the holidays. For the U.S., demand on papayas starts slowing down with Thanksgiving. People are focused on Christmas parties, etc.,” says Lance Peterson of Super Starr International. “However, coming into the New Year, I expect demand to come up. New Year’s resolutions push the demand in January because papayas are a very healthy option.
Right now supplies of papaya are largely coming out of Mexico with some supplies coming out of Central America as well. “We expect the supply to be regular. The year will kind of start out slow on the supply side. It’s just what we’re seeing. It seems like there’s not going to be much but maybe a little more later on,” says Peterson.
That said, pricing on papayas is as per usual–not bad considering where the demand and supply are at. “We expect pricing to go up in the New Year and pricing is a little bit better than this time last year,” says Peterson.
Honeydew season starting
Meanwhile, between Christmas and New Year’s, harvesting will begin on Super Starr’s honeydew program and melons will be available for the beginning of the year. Honeydew supplies are also out of Mexico.
“The crop is looking better than last year. The weather has been good for the melons and everything looks very healthy and clean and we're expecting a good start to the season,” says Peterson.
He’s also anticipating good demand on the melon. “There's going to be less supply from what we understand. There will be fewer melons available and that will help demand in general. The rumors are that there's been significant cutbacks in acreage,” he says.
In turn, he anticipates good pricing. Last year pricing on honeydew started out very good early in the season but came off quickly. “Towards the end of the season it went back up a little. It feels like the market will start out on the right foot—we're confident of that,” says Peterson. 
For more information:
Lance Peterson
Super Starr International
Tel: +1 (956) 510-8126
[email protected]
www.superstarrinternational.com