<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;line-height:130%"> South Florida</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By Eric Anderson<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">5.1.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Supplies are tight for south Florida watermelons, which were hit by wet and cold weather conditions in early spring.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Market demand is currently coming in good to strong, according to growers; however, and prices are solid at 26 – 30 cents a pound.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Though, miscellaneous weather complications have influenced the quality to date, conditions are expected to mellow out.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Growers in the area tell AndNowUKnow that the crop is progressing nicely and larger quantities of higher quality, and larger fruit will be available in the next several weeks from the south Florida region.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">As this higher quality fruit becomes available, the market will weaken and the prices should drop at the retail level to some degree.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Growers note that there will still be a shortage of melons compared to historical shipments for this time of the year. The normal market will be delayed all the way up the East Coast, going through the 4th of July.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for updates on the crop.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
