At the moment, the products from Almeria reaching the highest prices are melons and watermelons, as they are the first batches to hit the market this season; however, producers stress that the prices obtained for melons are 25% lower than last year around the same dates, while watermelons remain stable compared to early last year.
"We do not understand why, but despite the warmer and drier weather conditions in Spain and central and northern Europe, demand for summer fruit has fallen compared to last year," stated an exporter. "This probably means that the economic crisis is gradually having a deeper effect in the rest of the EU, where consumption is growing stagnant. If prices are lower early in the season, we may be facing a difficult campaign."
This week, Galia melons stood at 0.44 Euro/kg at auction, while processed black watermelons reached between 0.60 and 0.75 Euro/kg. White seedless watermelons, yellow watermelons and the Crimson and Fashion varieties all stood around the 0.80 Euro per kilo.