The summer has yet to arrive and the watermelon season has already started in Spain about 20 days in advance, overlapping with significant volumes still being exported by overseas producers, and "although the weather in Spain is hot, temperatures still need to increase in the rest of Europe for consumption to grow significantly," says José Enrique Moreno, General Director of Grupo AGF, which hopes to sell around 70,000 tonnes of watermelon this season.
Grupo AGF owns approximately 1,800 hectares in eleven provinces of the Mediterranean arc, mainly in open fields and greenhouses of Almeria, Granada, Alicante, Valencia, Tarragona, Balearic Islands and Huesca, as well as in Senegal, which allows them to offer watermelons of consistent quality from February to October.
With the Fashion brand, Grupo AGF not only created a leading black seedless watermelon label within the European market; rather, with the launch of Fashion back in 2006, the company managed to revolutionise watermelon consumption trends. Watermelons with seeds have lost about 60% of their market share compared to the seedless and "all indications point to them disappearing soon," said Mr Moreno.
"Fashion has made a difference in recent years with comprehensive quality controls backed with good logistics, with which we achieve continuity for 7 months, which is what our customers value most," he says.
60% of all Fashion watermelons are sold in Spain and the remaining 40% are exported mainly to Germany, France, Switzerland, England, Ireland, Scandinavia and Italy. "At the moment, the freight conditions prevent us from accessing more distant markets while offering the same quality as in Europe, although Grupo Fashion is working on new projects in this area," he points out.
IceBox, a new concept for small households
In order to meet the new consumer habits, Grupo AGF recently launched the IceBox concept, a smaller watermelon, with calibres between 6 and 7 (2 kg-2.5 kg), characterised by a fresh and crispy flesh with uniform sweetness and easily digestible microseeds.
This variety, pollinated by Fashion, is packaged in individual nets with a handle for easy transport made from durable and recyclable material. These are more practical than cardboard containers, which are more sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity.
"It is intended for supermarkets. Unlike in Spain, where large calibres are preferred due to the tradition of eating watermelon together in large families, countries of north western Europe, especially Germany, as well as the Nordic countries, have a preference for medium watermelons, as families are smaller and society tends to be more individualised," explains José Enrique Moreno.
Más información:
Grupo AGF
Edificio de la Alcoholera
Pol.Ind. La Azucarera
04770 Adra, Almeria. Spain
T: +34 699136452
www.grupoagf.es
[email protected]
Watermelon becoming star of the summer
Watermelon production areas in Europe are expanding. In Spain, Almeria, which is the main producer, has increased the acreage by 20% this year alone.
"Watermelons are also gaining ground on melons as most popular summer fruit, since they have higher water content and they are considered to be more refreshing. However, it is one of the fruits relying the most on temperatures, as the weather almost fully determines its sales volumes," he concludes.
Más información:
Grupo AGF
Edificio de la Alcoholera
Pol.Ind. La Azucarera
04770 Adra, Almeria. Spain
T: +34 699136452
www.grupoagf.es
[email protected]