Watermelon supplies could be down this summer
Watermelon supplies could be down this summer
Watermelon demand in April was surprisingly strong, as Florida production was up over a year ago and Mexican production was also meeting demand. Growers expect domestic volume to be down this summer.
"The watermelon deal now could be better than last year," said Michael DeBerry, the sales comptroller for Borders Melon Co. Inc., which is based in Edinburg, TX. Borders' melons are grown in Mexico and Texas. "The fruit has been tremendous and the market has been 22-24 cents. Everything is good. The market, I anticipate, should hold at least through Memorial Day."
Brent Harrison, president of Al Harrison Produce Co. Distributors Inc., based in Nogales, AZ, said in mid-April, "We just started out of Sonora in northern Mexico. That is the bulk of our product and we will be strong there for the next two months and we will supply quite a bit of the Unites States and Canada in that period. We are focused on the food safety, sizing and quality for all of our customers at this point."
"I feel that the whole Sonora program is up 30 percent from last year, which is significant. Last year everyone made good money in the deal but there were some factors that contributed to that which we won't have this year."
A year ago, Mr. Harrison said, there were crop failures in Florida and late fruit out of Texas "so everyone went to west Mexico and Nogales for product. This year Florida is not at full strength, but is a factor, and Texas is on time. This season to maintain a decent price for growers, chains will have to promote melons due to increased acreage in west Mexico. If not, then we cannot maintain a decent price for the growers. There will be plenty of volume to promote up until probably the first part of June. And then it switches back to domestic product."
Mr. Harrison said the domestic deal "is way off in acreage. That will be down due to our competitiveness with wheat and grains. From what I understand there is a guaranteed return" for grain.
Mr. Harrison said that, except for west Mexico, "2007 was a terrible year for watermelon growers. There was an oversupply and no promotions. Between those two factors, labor and fuel costs are all contributing to not planting as much. West Mexico had a fantastic season last year." Coming into this planting, many growers there expected to make more money by planting watermelons. "They saw their neighbor made money. Will they market and pack them correctly? Will they stop when the market goes below cost? I most definitely have doubts about that."
Arnold Mack, the owner of McMelon Inc., in Lakes Wales, FL, said April 16, "We have started a few melons out of Florida. Cool weather has slowed things down a bit, but for the most part, the melons are a little earlier than last year. Hopefully we will have a little more volume in Florida this year, but it won't be as much as we originally thought, due to gummy stem blight and downy mildew. With both of those diseases, you lose foliage and when you lose foliage it shortens the life of the plant and your ability to make a full crop of melons."
When the Florida weather warms, watermelon production "will pick up somewhat. We have already had some melons in April, so we have had more" than last year. He expects the increased volume to continue into the first two or three weeks of May, but the cool weather this spring may decrease production in north Florida and southern Georgia after May 15. Normally at that time "there is a big supply. Last year there was. This year, it depends on the weather coming up how they'll do. We could be looking at somewhat of a gap - if not a mini-gap - in that time frame. It remains to be seen."
Lloyd Rosen, vice president and marketing director of Wm. Manis Produce Marketing Co. in Plant City, FL, said April 15, "there have been some real early watermelons out of south Florida." That production was "having as cold of a time as we could possibly have. It doesn't destroy anything but it sure slows the growth. Early quality is somewhat erratic, depending where they are growing and how fortunate a field was to miss rain and cool weather. This should straighten out as the weather warm up."
For ideal growing conditions, watermelons need warm ground and in mid- April, "the ground is colder than the air. We need warm weather to speed growth." Despite early spring issues, Mr. Rosen expects supplies for Memorial Day and July 4. "I am anticipating increased supply and decreased demand."
"It has been a bear of a year," Mr. Rosen said. "Still, at the end of the year there will be sunshine. Despite the weather and markets and freight we will have pulled though as a result of experience and longevity together and compatibility, so the efficiencies of what we do will get us through in very, very good fashion."
Mr. Rosen continued, "At the end of the season, at some price or another, every watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew will be marketed, one way or the other."
"These are the best of times and the worst of times," Mr. Rosen said, paraphrasing Charles Dickens. "We go through the depths of the winter with gloom and doom and naysayers and somehow at the end of the year it all comes out in the wash."
Mark Arney, executive director of the National Watermelon Promotion Board in Orlando, said that watermelon imports continue to grow for North American buyers. Today, 28 percent of the watermelons for the U.S. are imported. This is up from 15 percent just five years ago.
Mr. Arney credited his marketing staff with "doing a really good job of looking at the program to help promote imports in winter months and keeping the product in consumers' eyes for 12 months."
"We are just starting the domestic crop in south Florida," Mr. Arney said April 18. Imports will be winding down in the next eight weeks while domestic volume builds. "So far it looks pretty good compared to last year. We are in better shape" than a year ago.
Mr. Mack expects the Florida deal to be "pretty good by May 1. Some guys in Florida have been loading" since late March "and their fields will be over in a week or two. "We expect to cut a month" in south Florida "and that's about it. Where they have the diseases, it will be short-lived."
Growers need to produce 40,000 pounds per acre to profit, but where production is down due to disease assaults on foliage, "there may not be 15,000 or 20,000 pounds per acre." Even a 15 or 20 percent reduction in productivity will significantly reduce grower profits, Mr. Mack said.
Ultimately, however, profitability will depend on market demand and that "is all based on the weather in Northern cities and states. If there is a big pull for Memorial Day ... if the weather is good, we may need more melons. The weather makes a tremendous difference" in market demand.
Because of that conventional wisdom, in mid-April Mr. Mack was surprised that Northern markets were buying as many melons as they were. "I guess that people are hungry for fruit," even though the Northeast had not enjoyed good weather. "We are taking orders from Baltimore to Boston. I never dreamed they would use this many. I would understand if it had 70 degrees, even. I was worried about orders but there has been quite a bit of business." He hoped to supply the mid-April demand with Florida melons but said he'd recently been filling orders with Mexican fruit.
(For more on watermelons, see the April 28 issue of The Produce News.)
"The watermelon deal now could be better than last year," said Michael DeBerry, the sales comptroller for Borders Melon Co. Inc., which is based in Edinburg, TX. Borders' melons are grown in Mexico and Texas. "The fruit has been tremendous and the market has been 22-24 cents. Everything is good. The market, I anticipate, should hold at least through Memorial Day."
Brent Harrison, president of Al Harrison Produce Co. Distributors Inc., based in Nogales, AZ, said in mid-April, "We just started out of Sonora in northern Mexico. That is the bulk of our product and we will be strong there for the next two months and we will supply quite a bit of the Unites States and Canada in that period. We are focused on the food safety, sizing and quality for all of our customers at this point."
"I feel that the whole Sonora program is up 30 percent from last year, which is significant. Last year everyone made good money in the deal but there were some factors that contributed to that which we won't have this year."
A year ago, Mr. Harrison said, there were crop failures in Florida and late fruit out of Texas "so everyone went to west Mexico and Nogales for product. This year Florida is not at full strength, but is a factor, and Texas is on time. This season to maintain a decent price for growers, chains will have to promote melons due to increased acreage in west Mexico. If not, then we cannot maintain a decent price for the growers. There will be plenty of volume to promote up until probably the first part of June. And then it switches back to domestic product."
Mr. Harrison said the domestic deal "is way off in acreage. That will be down due to our competitiveness with wheat and grains. From what I understand there is a guaranteed return" for grain.
Mr. Harrison said that, except for west Mexico, "2007 was a terrible year for watermelon growers. There was an oversupply and no promotions. Between those two factors, labor and fuel costs are all contributing to not planting as much. West Mexico had a fantastic season last year." Coming into this planting, many growers there expected to make more money by planting watermelons. "They saw their neighbor made money. Will they market and pack them correctly? Will they stop when the market goes below cost? I most definitely have doubts about that."
Arnold Mack, the owner of McMelon Inc., in Lakes Wales, FL, said April 16, "We have started a few melons out of Florida. Cool weather has slowed things down a bit, but for the most part, the melons are a little earlier than last year. Hopefully we will have a little more volume in Florida this year, but it won't be as much as we originally thought, due to gummy stem blight and downy mildew. With both of those diseases, you lose foliage and when you lose foliage it shortens the life of the plant and your ability to make a full crop of melons."
When the Florida weather warms, watermelon production "will pick up somewhat. We have already had some melons in April, so we have had more" than last year. He expects the increased volume to continue into the first two or three weeks of May, but the cool weather this spring may decrease production in north Florida and southern Georgia after May 15. Normally at that time "there is a big supply. Last year there was. This year, it depends on the weather coming up how they'll do. We could be looking at somewhat of a gap - if not a mini-gap - in that time frame. It remains to be seen."
Lloyd Rosen, vice president and marketing director of Wm. Manis Produce Marketing Co. in Plant City, FL, said April 15, "there have been some real early watermelons out of south Florida." That production was "having as cold of a time as we could possibly have. It doesn't destroy anything but it sure slows the growth. Early quality is somewhat erratic, depending where they are growing and how fortunate a field was to miss rain and cool weather. This should straighten out as the weather warm up."
For ideal growing conditions, watermelons need warm ground and in mid- April, "the ground is colder than the air. We need warm weather to speed growth." Despite early spring issues, Mr. Rosen expects supplies for Memorial Day and July 4. "I am anticipating increased supply and decreased demand."
"It has been a bear of a year," Mr. Rosen said. "Still, at the end of the year there will be sunshine. Despite the weather and markets and freight we will have pulled though as a result of experience and longevity together and compatibility, so the efficiencies of what we do will get us through in very, very good fashion."
Mr. Rosen continued, "At the end of the season, at some price or another, every watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew will be marketed, one way or the other."
"These are the best of times and the worst of times," Mr. Rosen said, paraphrasing Charles Dickens. "We go through the depths of the winter with gloom and doom and naysayers and somehow at the end of the year it all comes out in the wash."
Mark Arney, executive director of the National Watermelon Promotion Board in Orlando, said that watermelon imports continue to grow for North American buyers. Today, 28 percent of the watermelons for the U.S. are imported. This is up from 15 percent just five years ago.
Mr. Arney credited his marketing staff with "doing a really good job of looking at the program to help promote imports in winter months and keeping the product in consumers' eyes for 12 months."
"We are just starting the domestic crop in south Florida," Mr. Arney said April 18. Imports will be winding down in the next eight weeks while domestic volume builds. "So far it looks pretty good compared to last year. We are in better shape" than a year ago.
Mr. Mack expects the Florida deal to be "pretty good by May 1. Some guys in Florida have been loading" since late March "and their fields will be over in a week or two. "We expect to cut a month" in south Florida "and that's about it. Where they have the diseases, it will be short-lived."
Growers need to produce 40,000 pounds per acre to profit, but where production is down due to disease assaults on foliage, "there may not be 15,000 or 20,000 pounds per acre." Even a 15 or 20 percent reduction in productivity will significantly reduce grower profits, Mr. Mack said.
Ultimately, however, profitability will depend on market demand and that "is all based on the weather in Northern cities and states. If there is a big pull for Memorial Day ... if the weather is good, we may need more melons. The weather makes a tremendous difference" in market demand.
Because of that conventional wisdom, in mid-April Mr. Mack was surprised that Northern markets were buying as many melons as they were. "I guess that people are hungry for fruit," even though the Northeast had not enjoyed good weather. "We are taking orders from Baltimore to Boston. I never dreamed they would use this many. I would understand if it had 70 degrees, even. I was worried about orders but there has been quite a bit of business." He hoped to supply the mid-April demand with Florida melons but said he'd recently been filling orders with Mexican fruit.
(For more on watermelons, see the April 28 issue of The Produce News.)
