The watermelon season in the Spanish region of Castile-La Mancha is "developing really well at the start due to the strong demand for small sizes in Europe," says AgustÃn Borja, from Agroborja, a grower with facilities in the municipality of Daimiel.
"We don't know how things will go later on, but in these 15 days in which we have already been harvesting, a large volume of these smaller sizes is reaching the market at good prices. The demand from the European market is quite strong and, in fact, we are seeing something that almost never happens: sizes 4, 5 and 6 fetching higher prices than the large calibers."
"Fortunately, the increase in the demand for exports has coincided with the start of Castile-La Mancha's campaign, and since sizes are not usually very large at the start, this situation has been perfect for us," he says. "Most of the watermelon volumes we are shipping have been going to Germany, Austria and other central European countries. Poland gets quite a lot of supply from Eastern countries and usually arrives a little later, so this week we will also start loading for that destination."
In addition to this European demand for watermelons, a considerable part of the sales are going to Spain's domestic market, where the high temperatures of the last few weeks in most parts of the Peninsula have given a boost to melon and watermelon consumption.
"Regarding melons, this week there have been some shortages in the supply and, as a result, rising prices. It is worth noting that there has only been a delay in the ripening this week, and although the acreage devoted to melon cultivation in Castile-La Mancha has been reduced by 400-500 hectares this year, there will still be enough melon on the market," says the professional with almost 30 years of experience in melon and watermelon cultivation. "However, it is a reality that growers are opting for other products besides melon, because the product's prices haven't gone up in years. In fact, here in La Mancha, many hectares have been converted to watermelon and onion cultivation, although precisely because of this increase in the supply, onions are currently causing net losses."
"As far as watermelon is concerned, despite the expansion of the acreage, there hasn't been much of an impact so far, because the high demand at the beginning of the season has allowed the marketing of all the kilos supplied, and so far, it hasn't been necessary to put anything in storage. In a way, it could be said that watermelons are the biggest competitor for melons today, so we must be doing something right to be able to deliver such a high quality product and get people to continue buying it. That is why I believe that the trend we have seen this year, of melons losing ground to watermelons, will continue. Watermelons are certainly going to stay strong."
For more information:
Agroborja S.L.
National 430 Manzanares - Daimiel km. 347.5
Tel.: +34 620 729 747
http://agroborjasl.com