The "No green cuts" campaign aims to ensure the quality of watermelons and melons grown in Almeria so that they reach consumers in optimum ripening conditions. The Territorial Delegation of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, with Hortyfruta, will check consignments from third countries, controlling their quality and traceability.
These controls will begin at the start of marketing, which will begin in the first fortnight of April due to a delay in planting and ripening problems caused by the recent rains. Depending on the production areas and harvesting times, they will continue until the end of the melon and watermelon season, in early July, ending in the Levante region of Almeria.
"Last season, our quality inspectors carried out 107 controls, checking 1.5 million kilos of watermelon and melon. On a commercial level, the season was difficult due to the gap between supply and demand caused by favorable weather in Almeria and adverse weather in Europe, which did not facilitate the marketing of these products," stated territorial delegate Antonio Mena.
"According to quality controls, our watermelons have an average 10.09 Brix level, and our melons have an 11.57 Brix level. Only 1.7% of the watermelons and 1% of the melons had non-conformities. These values show that the watermelons and melons from Almeria, which we sell in national and international retail outlets, comply with all quality guarantees," he stressed.
According to estimates, Spain will devote 2,485 hectares to melon crops in the 2024-2025 season (1% more than in the previous season) and 10,965 hectares to watermelon (+2%). This increase may be related to favorable spring crop prices in recent years. However, the productions from third countries such as South America, Africa, and other Spanish regions present challenges because they overlap with the local production cycle.
Last season, the country produced more than 619,352 tons of watermelon and 110,416 tons of melon. In the 2024-2025 season, production is expected to reach 631,000 tons of watermelons (+2%) and 111,500 tons of melons (+1%).
Source: aenverde.es