Sicilian melons arrived on the wholesale markets a few weeks ago and volumes are increasing, albeit rather slowly. "There is not a lot of produce available, meaning prices are quite high - those of Mundial and Red Falcon netted melons hover around €2.10-2.20/kg," explains Wainer Marzola from Spreafico.
Melons being sold at the Bologna wholesale market.
In addition to melons from Sicily, the imported ones from Morocco are also available, although the season is now ending. "They will be available for another 20 days, one month or so and are being sold at €1.70-1.80 or even €2/kg. They are of the Charentais netted variety, though their quality is not great - far from that of the Charentais from Senegal. Morocco started really well with the Magenta melons, but the Charentais variety was affected by shelf-life problems."
The situation of Canary yellow melons is more normal - "the first quantities from Sicily will arrive in a couple of weeks' time, not much earlier than the previous season. Volumes now available from Costa Rica and are sold at €1.30/kg, which is normal for the end of the campaign."