A surplus of Galia melons from Brazil is causing a difficult market situation. “It sometimes feels like beating your head against a brick wall,” sighs Frank Ocampo of Hagé International. “Last year we had to deal with an enormous amount of melons from Brazil, that caused a dramatic market situation, and now an average of 180 containers per week have been sent to Europe in weeks 36, 37 and 38, on top of the volumes from last year. And the market cannot handle more than 600 containers on average per week, that logically results in a decrease in prices.”
Meanwhile, in recent weeks volumes have been adjusted downwards to match volumes from last year. “And that was necessary, because especially of Galia melons we have much old trade on the market, and nobody knows what to do with it. This results in a price level between 5 and 7 euro. For that reason, many smaller companies have started importing less, or they have even stopped importing altogether,” Ocampo says. “All in all, the market has a surplus of Galia, and especially smaller sizes are available in abundance.”
According to Ocampo the other varieties have much better sales. “Buying and selling of Cantaloupe is fairly stable, with prices around 7-8 euro. The same is paid for yellow melons. That is not too bad, last year we sold those for 3-4 euro. The watermelon market is also stable, with price levels of 12-13 euro for both seeded and seedless varieties. Piel de Sapo melons are not readily available during the Brazilian season, so those are also doing well with prices between 10 and 12 euro per box.”
“Fortunately, the quality of the melons we receive from all Brazilian producers is good. Undoubtedly, there will be more pushing and shoving in the coming weeks, even if consumption patterns decrease because of dropping temperatures. But it's already week seven and last year the drama started after three good weeks. It is expected that a number of varieties will remain stable in prices. Despite the small slump, this season will and should be better than that of 2015/16,” Ocampo concludes.
For more information:
Frank Ocampo
Hagé International
Spoorwegemplacement 1
2991 VT Barendrecht