"We are currently getting ready for the watermelon campaign. The fruit is our most important summer crop, and we plan to market 10 million kilos of the white striped seedless variety," said Sebastián Torres, sales representative of the Benihort cooperative, which is located in the Spanish municipality of Benicarló, in the north of the province of Castellon.
"This year's watermelon volume will exceed that of the previous year, since last season there were fruit setting problems caused by the spring heat wave, which led to a reduction in the total productions," he said.
In 2022, watermelons accounted for 25% of the cooperative's production volume and 22% of the total sales.
For this summer season, Benihort decided to grow only white striped watermelons in order to streamline the warehouse operations and reduce packaging costs.
"This year we will only sell white striped watermelon to gain efficiency in our warehouses. Besides, this variety, with its sweet taste and proven quality, is also perfectly adapted to the soil of the area and is in great demand for export," says the production manager, Javier Rillo.
More than 50% of the volume of Benihort's watermelons is intended for export. Destinations such as France, Germany, Eastern and Northern European countries are its main buyers. The fruit will be marketed both under the Benihort brand and under the clients' own brands, as is the case with the labels of various supermarkets.
Fresh cut specialists from the Almeria area will once again be in charge of cutting the fruit when it reaches the optimum point of ripeness.
"We foresee a good watermelon campaign if the weather conditions remain favorable, and the 2023 season is scheduled to start at the end of June. This campaign, we have also invested in an automated tipper that will make it possible to produce more kilos of fruit quicker and more efficiently," said Javier Rillo.
For more information:
Benihort
Polígono Industrial El Collet
Parcelas 301-305
12580 Benicarló, Castellon. Spain
Tel. 964 470 450
coop@benihort.com
https://benihort.com