In early March, Chip Jetter, president of Garden Fresh Distribution Service Inc. in Pompano Beach, FL, told The Produce News that the company was gearing up to start its watermelon program in early April.

“We’re about to get real busy,” said Jetter. “We jokingly call the period from the first of May through July 4 the ‘100-day watermelon war’ because it is when the demand is the strongest.”

Chip JetterJetter explained that watermelon consumption is directly related to the weather. If it’s 90-degrees, people are eating watermelon, and that has never changed throughout commercial watermelon history — and likely for years long before then.

“We’ll start with some new LaBelle, Florida, acreage toward the end of April,” he said. “Movement may come on even a little earlier if the warm weather continues as it has been for the better part of the year.”

He pointed out that all produce movement is directly related to weather, and it affects business wherever you are.

“Anything out of the ordinary is bad,” he said. “Ideally what you want is that perfect seasonal window for everything. For watermelons, we want the weather hot, but if the heat is intense — like 100 degrees — for two weeks, then you have a problem.”

Jetter said that he’s hearing from all of his customers in the Northeast that this has been the coldest winter in several years. But they also said that there have been periods just a few years ago when winters were typically this cold. But anytime there is so much snow on the ground that people can’t get out of their houses to shop, the situation becomes tough for retailers and suppliers alike.

Garden Fresh’s Florida watermelon movement rolls through south Florida, starting now with LaBelle, then it moves into Wauchula, St. Augustine and ultimately into Plant City. The company then looks toward a smooth transition into Georgia, the Carolinas and Delaware. It then follows the season back south along the same route, ensuring that its customers have a supply chain with no gaps.

In early March, Garden Fresh was preparing for its mango program from Guatemala to start, while Kent variety mangos from Peru were winding down. The company’s Costa Rican program began in late February and runs into early May. The company then transitions into Mexico for mangos.

“We start Brazilian mangos in the summer when the Mexican program finishes,” said Jetter. “We then move to Ecuador and Peru, then to Nicaragua and Costa Rica, followed by Guatemala. Then the cycle starts all over for year-round supplies.

“This has been a more challenging year for mangos,” Jetter pointed out. “The quality was pretty good and prices were relatively high, but volumes were tight for a while. We’re now transitioning from Tommy Atkins to Kent varieties. The Kents will run strong from April through mid-May, and then we start to see some serious competition from Mexico.”

Besides its Pompano Beach location, Garden Fresh operates a Glassboro facility in New Jersey, where it repacks watermelons and handles rejected product. Jetter’s father, Chris Jetter, runs the company’s New Jersey operation.

“My uncle, Merv, who was our partner, retired a couple of years ago,” said Jetter. “My dad and I are now running the show.”