Supply of cantaloupe and honeydew melons is improving out of Yuma, Arizona. “We’re getting into some better supply,” says Tom Conrado of Classic Fruit Company. “We had some pest issues that put a lot of pressure on harvest in the first 10 days two weeks of the beginning of the fall program. Right now we’re starting to get into some healthier fields with a little bit better set and better yields so there’s more hope and more availability.”
At the same in Mexico, Conrado says it seems like there’s also a bit more supply coming right now out of the Mexican production areas crossing through Nogales--and also slightly more supply overall from Mexico than last year. “So there’s ample supply now and we’re expecting that to continue for about a week or so and then it’ll start to slow down.” This is as some grower-shippers finish up their Yuma programs where there’s also somewhat less acreage planned as they anticipate the beginning of the offshore season.
“We began packing in our Guatemalan facility last Friday and we’ll start seeing a bit of that fruit arriving in South Florida here this week,” he says. Arrivals from Guatemala are expected for its Texas and California shipping areas the week of November 20th, right around the time production wraps up in Yuma. Classic Fruit offers a year-round melon program and overlaps its growing regions slightly to keep supply consistent.
Demand strengthening
As for demand, it’s been good though slowed somewhat last week which is typical post-IFPA show. “Today is picking up a little bit--more so than the end of last week and even up until yesterday,” says Conrado. “I think we’ll continue like this for the next week to 10 days and then we’ll start to scale back as the eastern arrivals from Guatemala begin over there.”
Meanwhile, on pricing, it’s trending a bit lower which began at the end of last week and could reflect the incoming production out of Mexico. However, Conrado says this week it’s catching up and getting more to levels that help movement. “It was so tight for a couple of weeks that the prices got a little high and the retails out of whack. We just need to get these back in line to get movement back at the store level,” he adds.
Looking ahead, Guatemala is the longest growing season--about six months--in Classic’s melon program. “The weather has been very good there and the fruit set is nice,” says Conrado. “Quality reports have been excellent out of Central America. So far there’ve not been any major storms. We’re not out of the woods yet but we’re expecting a very good deal out of Guatemala this season.”
For more information:
Tom Conrado
Classic Fruit Company
Tel.: +1 (559) 271-9200
tconrado@classicfruit.com
www.classicfruit.co