Although melon and watermelon prices did not start off as high as expected with the transition from Murcia's production to that of Castile-La Mancha, they reached up to 0.55/0.60 Euro per kilo, remaining stable until mid-August, "when they started falling until they dropped even below production costs," explains José Luís Agudo, manager of Agrícola JJF. "The early varieties suffered delays and overlapped with the late ones, concentrating excessive supply volumes in a time period when most people were on holidays. It would be very odd if prices were to go up again."
Based in the town of Llanos de Caudillo, in Castile-La Mancha, Spain, Agrícola JJF is specialised in the production of Piel de Sapo melons, particularly of the Sancho variety, and black seedless watermelon of the Style variety.
"The Sancho is possibly one of the tastiest and highest quality melons, although its handicap is its low yield compared to other varieties, as well as the complexities behind its cultivation process. We are currently one of the few companies which still produce Sancho, as we have specific clients for this melon," explains José Luís.
This year, just like in Almeria and Murcia, calibres were smaller than usual, although in Castile-La Mancha's case, melons tend to reach superior calibres as the season progresses, normally ending up being too large. "La Mancha's melons are generally characterised by being excessively large, which generates problems during the processing and packing stages, hence losing also commercial competitiveness. Because of this, in my opinion, producers should increase the ratio of plants per square metre, or else irrigate with lower amounts of water."
Still 15 days of the melon campaign and 8 days of the watermelon season remain, which will continue to be distributed in Spain as well as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France, under the brands DE LLANOS and AGRICOLA JJF.
Although Agrícola JJF established itself as a limited liability company just 3 years ago, they have more than 40 years' experience in the cultivation of these summer fruits. "Our most immediate goal is to be able to commercialise 100% of our production. Furthermore, once the investments in machinery are made, we would also like to make our facilities more profitable during the winter months, due to which we are studying the possibility to include new fruits or vegetables. For now, we have started testing it with pumpkins and onions," stated José Luís.
Agrícola JJF will again be an exhibitor at thenext edition of Fruit Attraction, to take place in Madrid during 16, 17 and 18October. You can find them at stand 7C05E.
More information:
José Luís
Agricola JJF S.L.
Llanos del Caudillo, (Ciudad Real). Spain
T: +34 696 970 003
info@agricolajjf.com
www.agricolajjf.com