The Brazilian melon season started for Group ADW with the Galia strain two weeks ago. Next Monday, other varieties will arrive: yellow melon, Cantaloupe, Charentais, water melon and Piel de Sapo or green melon. Group ADW focuses on melon strains that have high brix levels. “Consumers eating our melons have to think they have only just been picked,” says Ive Lambert.
More fives than sixes
This is the second year that Brazilian melons have been directly imported by Van Dijk Foods Belgium and marketed under their own brand Cebon. According to Lambert, the Brazilian growing season went well. “It is looking fine, but traditionally we see ‘thicker’ fruit at the start of the harvest. For example, we are currently having more Galias in calibre five, while many retailers and wholesalers work with calibre six. This causes more demand for sixes, and a slight surplus of fives, but we should be able to solve that on the open market,” says Lambert.
European
There is still a little bit of Spanish Galia supply on the market currently. “But the quality is so bad that most people have switched to Brazil. Water melon from Spain is also finished, so those two seasons connect closely. We are still receiving some volumes of Spanish Yellow and Green but that will not last much longer either.” He emphasises that they do not focus on volumes. “We do not import for import’s sake, we fill in our programmes in the correct manner.”
High brix
About 70 per cent of Cebon melons are marketed under their own brand, the rest under the customer’s private label. Ready-to-eat is indicated on the side of the Cebon crates. “This means that the melons are not just ready for immediate consumption, but that the taste is delicious as well. Our requirements in the field of strains are very high. For example, let us take a look at our first Galia arrivals. Brix levels were between 14.5 and 16.5. That is fairly unique for Galias, because most are between 10 and 12. This week we also had high brix levels. That difference is very noticeable. It is an art, by the way, to select the right strains, for they have to arrive here in perfect condition, and cannot continue maturing. They have to be perfect when they leave Brazil.”
Slightly more expensive
Lambert indicates that the problem with certain Galia strains is that they look beautiful, but taste terrible. “At one point, Spain chose to cultivate more long-life varieties, which had a brix level between six and nine. We have consciously chosen to produce the best varieties in Brazil. They might be slightly more expensive than standard Galias, because, in general, they also have slightly less production. When you eat a melon with a brix level of nine or fifteen: it is a completely different product. We aim for quality.” For more information:
Ive Lambert
Group ADW
Brussels - Belgium
T Brussels: +32 2 240 11 37
T SKW: +32 15 30 64 37
www.groupadw.be/