According to Raúl Arroyo, technician at the company Ciudad Real S.A.T. Agrollanos, the campaign is being "much better than last year," when the harvest was delayed, the weather was cold and there was a noticeable drop in consumption. "The yield per square metre is similar to last year's, but the quality is better," he affirms.
The price of first class green melon (or Piel de Sapo) stands at around 0.24 Euro per kilo at origin, while the second class reaches 0.15 Euro per kilo. For watermelons, prices range between 0.12 and 0.16 Euro per kilo. "These are reasonably prices given the greater balance in terms of supply and demand, because last year melons reached 0.06 to 0.08 Euro at this time," points out Raul.
Furthermore, he explains that consumers at the moment are purchasing more melons than watermelons in the domestic market. "Watermelon sales started quite strong during the second half of July, but with the arrival of August the export market has slowed down coinciding with the peak holiday season and light drops in temperature in Europe."
The production prospects for Castile-La Mancha's current season, which will last until mid-October, are 300 million kilos of melons and 150 million kilos of watermelons.
"From now on, volumes in the market will gradually drop, and if the good weather continues, September could be an interesting month," concludes Raul.
For more information:
Raúl Arroyo Valverde (Agricultural technician)
M:+34 650 560424
Pascual Candel López (Marketing department)
M:+34 697 733 549
S.A.T. Agrollanos
T/F: +34 926 644 188
info@satagrollanos.com
www.satagrollanos.com
Raúl Arroyo Valverde (Agricultural technician)
M:+34 650 560424
Pascual Candel López (Marketing department)
M:+34 697 733 549
S.A.T. Agrollanos
T/F: +34 926 644 188
info@satagrollanos.com
www.satagrollanos.com