Areflh (European fruit and vegetable producer region association) and Aim (French Melon interbranch association) are organising the first Euromediterranean Melon Congress in occasion of the Singularly Plural fruit & vegetable business gathering (Medfel), to be held between 13th and 15th May 2014.
Luciano Trentini (in the photo), deputy chairman of Areflh, talked about the reasons behind the organisation of the event.
"Melons have not been discussed at an international level for many years but, actually, global production has reached 32 million tons, an increase of over 10% in the last 5 years. China holds the first place with 1.7 million tons, followed by Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Spain, Morocco, Italy and France."
Import-export news
"Imports and exports are becoming more and more important in Europe as it is now possible to consume melons the whole year round. New producer countries such as Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, Senegal, Brazil, Costarica and Honduras are interested in the European market precisely because of this. The conference in Perpignan is the perfect opportunity to discuss this aspect too."
The Italian market
"The Italian melon market is rather stable. 20,000 hectares are cultivated producing little more than 460,000 tons. American netted, charenthais and canary melons are available for long periods of time because they are cultivated both in greenhouses and open fields. Production in Southern Italy integrates that from Northern grower regions."
Expectations
"The situation in Europe is quite varied. Spain produces mostly Piel de Sapo in the Castile and La Mancha regions. France produces Charentais in the South-Est, South-West and West-Centrla regions. Italy grows mainly netted melons."
"For this reason, it could seem that the sector is exempt from crises, however the fact that the produce is perishable means that producers have to sell a lot of produce at once, thus affecting prices. Areflh believes that favouring the exchange of information could limit the damage and manage market crises better."
"Another objective is the creation of a Euromediterranean observatory to monitor market trends and productions. We do not expect a miraculous solutions to our problems, but we believe that confrontation can lead to new ideas and useful information."