Melons costlier but sweet, plentiful

As with most items at the grocery store, consumers will be paying more for their watermelons this summer. The good news is they should be plentiful and of high quality, industry experts say. "Wholesale prices for seeded and seedless watermelons are currently above 20 cents per pound, or about a nickel a pound higher than last year, but those extra pennies add up," said Dr. Juan Anciso, a vegetable specialist with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Weslaco. "A 15-pound watermelon, for example, will wholesale for US$3 and cost consumers about US$5, which is about a dollar higher than last year, on average." Here in the Valley, perennially the first in the country to produce watermelons, growers planted about 12,000 acres the first two months of the year and began harvesting and shipping in April, Anciso said. "Loads didn't really start moving until May 1," he said, "and that could be because high winds throughout the growing season beat up the plants pretty good. In some cases, those winds knocked fruit off the vine, but we're still having a healthy harvest." Ward Thomas, a wholesaler at Majestic Produce in McAllen, said higher fuel prices are to blame for higher prices to the consumer. "It's tough to find trucks to haul produce right now, but that's not unusual for this time of year," he said. "Lots of produce is being shipped, like onions, mangos and watermelons. It's the high fuel costs that are making everything more expensive."
Thomas said Majestic began shipping watermelons April 17, making them the first in South Texas to do so. They will continue shipping, with loads destined for wholesalers and retailers east of the Rocky Mountains, for a few more days.