Approximately 70 percent of California’s cantaloupe crop is produced in the San Joaquin Valley, where harvest began June 29, which is right on schedule, notes Garrett Patricio, President of Classic Fruit Company of Fresno, CA and chairman of the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board, who stressed shippers are expecting promotable volume to be available by early July.
“The good news is that we expect strong cantaloupe volume beginning in early July and continuing throughout the remainder of the summer,” Patricio said. “Consumers and retailers can look forward to a steady supply of high-quality California cantaloupes once the San Joaquin Valley season gets underway.”
About 75 percent of all cantaloupes consumed in the United States are grown in California. As the San Joaquin Valley harvest gets underway, the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board is launching an expanded consumer marketing campaign designed to drive demand throughout the summer season.
In the meantime, unusual weather patterns severely impacted melon production in California’s Imperial Valley and the Yuma, Arizona growing region. Growers had extremely limited supplies of all melon varieties, including cantaloupe, during the last half of June.