In 2020, the Spanish Region of Murcia exported 237.04 million kilos of melons worth 175.86 million Euro, with an average price of 0.74 € / kg and France, Germany and the UK as the main destinations. Specifically, "56% of the melons sold abroad come from our Region, which shows that we are leaders in the production and export of melons," said the Councilor for Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Environment, Antonio Luengo, during a visit to the company Agrimesa.
"In the Region of Murcia we have excellent quality melons. It is the result of the work of hundreds of producers who, especially in the Campo de Cartagena area, carry out their activities in a way that is compatible with the protection of the environment, applying sustainable precision agriculture and using the latest techniques in water saving and efficiency," he said.
The Councilor for Agriculture of the Region of Murcia recalled that "the regional government has been working for years to promote the cultivation of melons through research carried out at the Murcian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research and Development (IMIDA). This has made it possible to have 70 varieties in the germplasm bank available to growers, allowing these to bring back certain flavors and to offer more varieties and have greater opportunities in the markets."
The visit also served to take stock of the watermelon production. The Councilor said that "206 million kilos were produced last year, and this campaign we expect similar figures, despite the adverse weather conditions that, at certain times, took a toll on the flowering process."
The volume of watermelons exported stood at 171.51 million kilos. This generated a turnover of 75.75 million Euro, with an average price of 0.44 € / kg. Germany, the United Kingdom and France were the main destinations for the fruit. Most of the watermelons produced were seedless. These account for about 90% of the total.
Source: hortoinfo.es
