According to sources within the sector, the Spanish watermelon campaign will start between a week and ten days earlier than usual in the greenhouses of Almeria, given the favourable weather conditions recorded, with higher temperatures than usual since the transplant was carried out.
In the earliest areas, the harvest is expected to start as soon as late March; a time when many of the major Spanish marketers are still importing significant volumes from Senegal.
The acreage planted with watermelons in Almeria is growing at the expense of melons, given the good results that the product is yielding both in terms of quality and price.
As long as there are no weather setbacks, the yields per square metre are also expected to be higher this season and therefore more volumes should be available, compared to the previous season.