Due to the uncertainties around market conditions and the decrease of available labor in the spring, Hungarian producers planted 20% less farmland with watermelon in 2020. Despite this, the harvest turned out to be good this year, with a total yield of 160 thousand tons, only 10 thousand fewer than last season.
At an opening ceremony for a promotional campaign for domestic watermelon consumption by the Agricultural Marketing Center, Deputy State Secretary Tamás Tarpataki of the Ministry for Agriculture explained that due to the unfavorable weather, the watermelon harvest was delayed – Which also made the fruit available in the market for a longer period. According to the Deputy State Secretary, the average consumer in Hungary eats 8-12 kilograms of watermelon in a season.
Deputy Executive of the Agricultural Marketing Center Gergely Giczi explained at the event that the popular belief that watermelon quality drops after August 10 (St. Lawrence Day) no longer holds true – Today, with the usage of new hybrid varieties, the season for tasty watermelons extends until the end of September.
Source: Agroberichtenbuitenland.nl