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 $3 and cost consumers about $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.

After that, other watermelon production areas of the state and the country begin selling their watermelons.

"Business is good," he said. "Buyers are buying like crazy. It's been that way since the season started; it hasn't wavered. The only downside is the higher prices, but that tide raised all ships, not just watermelons. We'd be concerned if only watermelon prices went up because consumers might buy other fruit instead. But that's not the case."

Anciso said barring bad weather, watermelons should be plentiful throughout the summer.

"During the winter, the U.S. gets its watermelon from Central America and Mexico," he said. "In May, the Valley begins supplying, then other areas of the state kick in, followed by the Florida harvest. In June, southern California begins selling, and by the 4th of July even Georgia is producing."

Anciso said watermelons are the state's largest annual horticultural crop, grown in 100 of the state's 254 counties.

"Depending on the year, Texas usually ranks among the top three producers in the country," he said. "But for the last three years, Texas has been either the first or second largest producer of seedless watermelons, which consumers really like."

Anciso said Texas seedless varieties became available in the mid 1980s, but took a while before consumers warmed up to them.

"The acreage of seedless varieties in Texas really soared in the early 90s," he said. "By 2000, seedless watermelons had changed the industry. They are now the mainstay."

Anciso estimates 70 percent of the state's production now is made up of seedless varieties.

"Some people still prefer seeded varieties," he said. "They tend to be bigger, in the 18- to 30-pound range, whereas seedless are in the 14- to 18-pound range. So seedless tend to be smaller, but their quality is more consistent. They're not clones, but almost. Seeded watermelons tend to have sporadic quality."

Despite problems with a lack of rainfall, some vine-decline diseases and a proliferation of whitefly insect pests, Anciso said Valley growers are generally pleased with the quality of this year's crop.

"Sugar levels are almost ideal, so consumers should have plenty of sweet, juicy watermelons to cool off with this year."