Italian watermelons have been in short supply for some weeks now, leading to a gradual increase in prices.
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The sales manager of O.P. Agricola Campidanese, Salvatore Lotta, draws up an initial balance of the current production and sales season, after about three months. 'This campaign is characterized by ups and downs, we can say that it has had three paces, which resulted in some nasty surprises, but also in some pleasant economic results. After an interesting start in May - though not exciting in terms of prices - there followed a delicate and difficult phase: between the end of June and mid-July, while the torrid heat accelerated ripening in Central and Southern Italy, bad weather affected the rest of the country and other European areas, which caused a sharp drop in consumption and a significant reduction in prices. Demand therefore dropped considerably, while available volumes increased. We were affected as well, but luckily the market seemed to appreciate our seedless mini watermelon brands Gavina and Eleonora."
Salvatore Lotta
Since the end of July, the trend has changed further in the field and in the markets, as the summer heat swept the continent. Demand in Europe currently exceeds supply, to the point of creating a rapid warehouse de-stocking and forcing many companies to finish earlier than expected, also due to excessive sun, hail and other climatic and/or phytopathological episodes.
"Outgoing quantities are excessive, so much so that we are not able to fully satisfy all requests. We are decreasing supplies to European customers: compared to the beginning of August, we have reduced exports by 80%. We are running out of produce, which is why we prefer to concentrate on the domestic market, where prices are also more satisfactory. A lot of produce has been lost in the last month, as the high temperatures have scalded the plants and watermelons, which has also favored the spread of aphids and thus reduced yields by up to 40%. With some varieties, such as Gavina, we believe we will finish by the end of August, more than 20 days in advance".
For more information:
Agricola Campidanese
Via Doria, 5
09098 Terralba (OR) - Italy
+39 0783 022959
[email protected]
lortodieleonora.com