The heat wave in Spain has advanced the melon and watermelon harvest period in the Region of Murcia, as well as the demand for these fruits, with everything that hits the market being sold out.
This has been reported by the president of COAG in the autonomous region, Miguel Padilla, after saying that "the watermelon and melon market is very active, as there is a good amount of kilos per hectare and better prices than last year."
Padilla has illustrated this by stating that some cooperatives in the Region of Murcia are marketing up to 1.4 million kilos of melons and watermelons per day.
He explained that, compared to last year, when the campaign was good, but not extraordinary, average prices have increased from 0.20 to 0.26-0.28 Euro per kilo in the case of seedless watermelons and from 0.30 to 0.45 Euro per kilo in the case of Galia melons.
77% of watermelons, for export
Last Thursday, Murcia's Councillor of Agriculture, Francisco Jódar, recalled that this region is the national leader in watermelon production, with 210,039 tonnes in 2016, of which 77% (161,546 tonnes) were intended for export, with sales worth almost 68 million Euro (+23%).
Jódar made this statement during the presentation of a campaign to promote the fruit's consumption under the slogan "If you are thirsty... eat me", organised by the federation of agricultural cooperatives Fecoam and the City of Lorca.
According to the Council, the price at origin of Galia melons fluctuated in week 24 (from 12 to 18 June) between 0.40 and 0.55 Euro/kg, whereas in week 24 of 2016 (from 13 to 19 of June) it oscillated between 0.32 and 0.33 Euro/kg.
For seedless watermelons, the increase was from 0.26/0.31 Euro/kg to 0.30/0.40 Euro/kg.
Source: efeagro.com
