"Gap in the Spanish melon market expected"

Due to the good weather in Holland, there is now a good demand for summer fruit, such as melon. But if enough will be supplied in the coming weeks remains to be seen. According to a Dutch importer the harvest in Murcia is running a couple of weeks early. "Because they have harvested early there will be a gap in the supply soon. This is naturally different for every company, it could be OK. It is expected that the Spanish season will finish earlier than normal. The combination of less supply and more demand should mean better prices, but we will have to wait and see."

Difficult supply

"It is the same story for watermelon. In Spain it is very warm and there are still a lot of tourists there. The domestic demand is very good, we also have good demand here in Holland for seedless, but it is difficult to get 60/65 cents. In addition to this not all sizes are available neither are all varieties. Spanish water melons are difficult to get a hold of and especially not in any kind of volumes. They are also arriving from Turkey and Greece, in 700 kilo boxes. These are priced at between 40 and 50 cent per kilo.

According to the trader the demand for Piel de Sapos is good. "The market for these is struggling on. There is a huge production in La Mancha, central Spain, these are around 50-60 cent per kilo, depending on the size. There is also supply of French Cavaillons and the domestic market is good. They are at first a bit shocked by the price, they are going for around 10/11 Euro per kilo. These melons taste superb, but the only disadvantage is their short shelf life. There are less volumes of Charentais being supplied, most of these go to the UK. There they pay a bit more for them than in Holland."

"Flat nectarines and peaches are going very well"

As well as a good demand for melons, there is also a good demand for flat nectarines and peaches. "This is going very well and they are also very tasty. We get these in every day and they are always sold. They are easier that the traditional ones and consumers are asking for them more and more often."