In a recent article in Fresh Plaza, the flood of imported jackfruit is reported.  As recently as 2 years ago, I saw jackfruit advertized on Amazon for nearly $10 a pound. These babies regularly weigh in at 10-20 pounds.  In their homeland, they regularly clock in at 80 pounds and more.  I've recently seen fruit sold locally at Vons, Sprouts and Whole Foods for $4 for 20 pound beasts.  That's still a hefty return. I saw the same fruit in the same stores for weeks on end.  No body was willing to buy it. It was fruit imported from Mexico.  I've seen similar fruit at the local swap meet where it's sold by the piece for $2 a pound.  Still a nice price.  Jackfruit can be grown in Southern California and until recently, a small grower could make a nice amount of money on the sale of the fruit.  But as this article reports, at 28 cents a pound its hard to make money. We can grow it, but someone can always grow it more cheaply it seems

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Influx of jackfruit into US market

https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9113152/influx-of-jackfruit-into-us-market/

There is plenty of jackfruit available in the US right now as peak season continues in the Mexican growing regions. Over the past month, the market has become saturated with fruit leading to a wide range in prices and also quality. The peak of the season occurs in May and June so there is still several weeks to go until the market starts returning to normal.

"There is lots of jackfruit saturating the market right now," said Scott Miller of LA-based Tropic Trading Co. "We source them from Nayarit and are currently in the middle of peak season. There is all kinds of quality out there and prices have been all over the place, anywhere from between 28c per lb to 40c per lb."

Miller added that demand drops as summer progresses due to the presence of other fruit. "Demand usually drops in the peak summer months because there are so many other fruits available," he said. "People do eat jackfruit year-round but especially in California, there are a lot of stone fruit and other summer fruits that vie for consumers' attention."

Photos: Jackfruit interior and a tree growing in Long Beach