For about 10 years, Alexandra Brossard, commercial director at Total Produce Indigo, has been importing melons and, in those 10 years, the consumption of counter-season melons has not evolved much. “French consumers have never been very interested in melons in January. The French market is indeed very sensitive to the climate. The French prefer to eat melons in the summer or starting in March or April, when the temperatures begin to rise. Off season, the melon is therefore not consumed a lot in France, with only a small irreducible yet anecdotal demand.”
But climate is not the only factor influencing the consumption of melons in France. There is of course the trend to consume more local and seasonal fruits, but the import varieties of melons also do not fit the French consumers’ taste. “The varieties cultivated in Brazil, Costa Rica and Honduras at the moment are the Canary melon, Santa Claus melon and Galia melon, which is not consumed at all in France. It makes sense in a way, since consumers tend to look for the product they know and eat in the summer. The French consume in fact 80% of Charentais melons during the summer season. In terms of production and taste, it is very difficult to produce the Cantaloupe or Charentais varieties in Latin America and then transport them, so we cannot offer this product off-season,” explains Alexandra.
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Total Produce Indigo
France represents only 3% of the European market when it comes to the consumption of import melons, but other countries that do not produce them, like Northern European countries, are happy to consume them as exotic fruits. “Swedish consumers can only get imported melons, so they are more inclined to consume them all year around. Just like the French with the pineapple, which is considered a ‘true’ exotic fruit because it is not produced in France. Pineapples sell even better in the winter than in the summer on the French market. In Northern countries, the colder climate makes the markets less weather-sensitive. And in Spain, which is the largest producer of yellow and green melons in Europe, the Latin American varieties are known. Spanish consumers can therefore find a product all year round that they are familiar with, unlike French consumers who do not know these varieties.”
For more information:
Alexandra Brossard
Total Produce Indigo SAS
ZAC du Griffon, 511 Route de la SEDS, Bâtiment 14
13127 Vitrolles, France
Phone: + 33 442 416 680
Fax: + 33 442 791 883
a.brossard@indigo-fruit.com
www.totalproduce-indigo.fr