Spanish producers of melon and watermelon are suffering the direct and indirect consequences of the Russian veto on European fruits and vegetables.
Since the crisis with Russia started in week 31 to date, the prices of different melon and watermelon export varieties have had drastic drops that range between 40% and 55.56%. The drops are due to the loss of the Russian market and to the surplus supply of products that were going to be sent to Russia are exerting on the market, which has lowered prices as a whole and caused consumers to replace melons and watermelons with other cheaper fruits.
Last week, Proexport had warned the Minister of Agriculture of this situation and had asked the Ministry to "request the EU Commission to immediately include them in the Support Regulations and to grant producers access to any market balance measure and aid that the EU is planning." A similar request was made to Murcia's Councillor of Agriculture and Water, Antonio Cerdá, and other international organizations that have consultative status with the EU.
According to estimates by the producers of Murcia, Spanish melon exports in the last three weeks of August amounted to 65,000 tons, while watermelon exports amounted to nearly 80,000 tons. Proexport estimated that the cumulative loss due to the price decrease in melons amounts to 20.5 million Euro and in watermelons to 14.4 million Euro.
"We can't understand how, with these numbers, and knowing that the campaign of both products still has a month to go, the EU hasn't included melon and watermelon in the Support Regulations draft that is being negotiated. We demand MAGRAMA and the EU to include them immediately and retroactively, because as a result of the bad prices in origin much of the production is being abandoned in the field and farmers are going bankrupt as they aren't getting any help," stated Juan Marin Bravo, president of Proexport.
Spain is the largest exporter of melon and watermelon in the EU. In 2013, Spain exported 410,537 tons of melons, 48% of which came from the Region of Murcia. Watermelon exports stood at 542,243 tonnes, 27% of which were from the Region of Murcia. These figures show that, if the melon and watermelons aren't included in the Support Regulations prepared by the EU, Murcia would be one of the regions affected the most by the Russian veto.
Source: Proexport