Three weeks ago, the Costa Rican melon season started with the arrival of the first watermelons at Staay-Hispa, these were followed late last week by the first yellow melons, and this week by the first Galia melons. The importer receives the melons from its Costa Rican branch SFG Dulce, which was given the special quality certification esencial Costa Rica from the country of origin for the first time this year, in addition to Rainforest Alliance certification.
“The market for watermelons is extremely good. Hurricane Otto and the enormous amount of rain afterwards led to delays in supply, and because of this, availability is low and prices are high. The market is empty continuously, and it is expected that the situation will remain like this for a while. Panama is hardly shipping watermelons, and combined with the limited supply from Costa Rica, we are feeling very positive about the coming season,” says Rob Bras.
Room for Costa Rica
“Yellow melons also started well, with relatively good prices. There are still some Brazilian yellow melons on the market, but because Costa Rica did not start too early I do not expect a boom or dip on the market for yellow melons. Volumes from Costa Rica are regular, and consumption will also be much higher when we get some sunnier weather,” Rob continues. “I also expect a good market for Galia and Cantaloupe. The Brazilian season has already finished, and the product from Honduras is currently disappointing as regards quality, resulting in Costa Rican product having plenty of room on the market.”
Furthermore, SFG Dulce has made it its goal to work with the best cultivators from Costa Rica. “Two years ago, we went from ten to six cultivators, which means the number of containers were reduced from 1,000 to 700,” Paul Ringelberg says. “Volumes are not sacred to us. After all, you can only start selling volumes if your quality is good enough. We are now completely satisfied with our quality, and if the market asks for it, we can start expanding the volume again.”
That is no sinecure, according to Paul. “It is not easy to cultivate melons to begin with, never mind a melon that tastes good. In general, the market blamed importers because the melons that were supplied did not meet flavour demands in recent years. That is why we focus on cultivators who have improved their quality and can meet those demands. Focus is on the cultivating of melons with high brix levels, good flavour and the right sizes.”
