The market for watermelons in the U.S. has been strong recently as supplies from Mexico have been light. More production is expected from Texas in the coming weeks, but adverse weather could mean prices won't come down substantially once domestic production ramps up.
“Prices are high for this time of year because there have been some production problems in Mexico,” said Andy Lozano with Sandia Depot in Edinburg, Texas. “There are some melons coming from Texas, but they're still pretty small, so it's mostly Mexican watermelons on the market.” He explained that weather and disease issues caused some growers in the Mexican states of Nayarit and Jalisco to limit their harvests or abandon them altogether, and that light production has made for high prices.
On April 25, prices for 35-count watermelons from Mexico were between 16 cents and 20 cents per pound at crossings through Arizona. At crossings through Texas, however, Lozano said he saw prices closer to 26 cents per pound for 45-count and 36-count melons.
“Texas will get going around the second week of May, but I don't think the market will get too far below 22 cents per pound,” said Lozano. That's going to make for continued strong prices – especially if Texas growers have to deal with excessive rain or disease in the fields.
“It's going to be a pretty good market in Texas for those who have watermelons,” said Lozano. “There was a lot of rain here last year, so nobody had a really good crop. If the weather sticks as it is now, we should have a good market.”
