This time of the year is one of high activity for the United States’ main watermelon producers, especially Florida, which is currently producing the highest volumes. 

Despite a slow start to the season, which has put the entire season behind by 1% year-on-year, the state is now getting back in line with past years.

Mark Arney, executive director of the National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB), told FreshFruitPortal.com that in total, over the past 30 days, supply in the U.S. market has been nearly 6% below the average of 2019-2023 during the same period.

In the last 30 days, production out of Florida reached over 496 million pounds, followed by Mexico, the second largest watermelon supplier with almost 337 million pounds. 

Texas is the third largest producer with 97.5 million pounds during the same period. 

“Texas featured a normal start to the season, but has more recently lost some steam as intense weather has made conditions difficult,” said Arney. 

He added that Mexico and Florida are the predominant drivers of volume with some flattening ahead for them. 

Source: Watermelon.org

Production since April

Looking at the entire season, starting on April 1, there is a drop in average volumes from both Mexico and Florida. 

Source: Watermelon.org

So far, California has not reported any shipments through June 2.

Arney added, "We’ve been getting reports out of Arizona and South Carolina for over a week now, and the first from Georgia came in a few days ago. For South Carolina, this is a bit of a strong start, while Arizona and Georgia are a little off pace with plenty of time to catch up."