José Ángel Serrano, spokesman of the Melon and Watermelon segment of Cooperativas Agro-Alimentarias in Castile-La Mancha, addressed the problematic situation the sector is in due to some retail pricing practices, as supermarkets are lowering the products' prices to use them as bait during the summer.
These prices, which in many cases stand as low as 0.35 Euro per kilo, "are detrimental to both producers and for the product's value," said Serrano.
This problem starts as the result of certain producers offering their fruit to these chains at low prices, making it very difficult for the rest to compete. "New melon varieties, with a stronger focus on productivity and high yields over their organoleptic qualities, immediately allow them to obtain good results in terms of sales, but these lack the flavour and fruit quality, thus affecting consumption and the fruit's value in the medium term."
One of the solutions proposed by Serrano is to "maximise controls of the production, as well as of the established prices and competition taking place in the market, to prevent producers and supermarkets from using melons and watermelons as bait." Furthermore, "growers should aim to unite, as we would then defend the product's quality and good image," adds José Ángel Serrano.
Regarding the current campaign, José Ángel Serrano says that "so far we've had a stable season, but with slightly lower volumes, which allows for a better quality."
Prices at origin are consequently acceptable. Melon prices currently stand around 0.20 to 0.26 Euro per kilo and watermelons reach between 0.12-0.16 Euro per kilo. This season's production is expected to reach around 300,000 tonnes for melons and around 150,000 tonnes for watermelons, although "we must still wait until the end of the campaign to get actual data," says Serrano, who affirms that the season so far has been characterised by a "very good quality in both cases and a gradual release of produce into the market."
Source: agroalimentariasclm.coop