The first watermelons have already started to be harvested in the greenhouses of Almería, although in very limited quantities, as the bad weather of recent weeks has delayed the fruit's ripening a little.
"We will not start harvesting the first watermelons until next week, as we believe that they have not yet reached their optimum point of ripeness," says Indalecio Acién, of the commercial department of Indasol, which hopes to market some 40,000 tons of watermelons this campaign.
"This season, the watermelon supply in Almería will be slightly greater than last year, as growers continue to switch from melons (which are hardly produced in this area any longer) to watermelons. This is due to the fact that large retail chains increasingly avoid the melons from Almería, extending the Senegalese and Brazilian campaigns until the start of the harvest in Murcia. Moreover, watermelon cultivation has improved exponentially in Almería thanks to the fact that the fruit is harvested at the optimum point of ripeness."
This is a transitional period between the watermelons from Africa and South America and the Spanish ones. "At the moment, the last watermelons from Senegal, Mauritania, Costa Rica, Panama and Brazil are arriving in the European markets. The quality of the watermelons from Senegal and Mauritania is not being good and the demand is also stagnant due to the impact of the crisis of the coronavirus. The biggest problem is that until the arrival of summer, most sales are usually made through the Horeca channel, which is now completely closed," says Indalecio Acién.
Also, the fact that watermelons are quite large pieces of fruit does not motivate consumers to buy them either, taking into account that they are making fewer journeys to the store in these times of confinement. This leads them to think that the demand for mini-watermelons will be better.
"The situation of the watermelon market at the moment is not very encouraging. What you want is to be able to start the Spanish harvest with good demand and prices, since it is very difficult for them to rise throughout the season," says Acién. "At least the weather is good in northern Europe. However, if people don't go outside their homes anymore, I don't think they'll find the motivation to consume watermelons. We hope that the good weather will continue in central and northern Europe and that people will be able to leave their homes soon."
Indasol produces and markets seedless striped watermelons, Fashion seedless black watermelons, micro-seed watermelons and mini-watermelons. Its main markets in Europe are Germany and France, as well as the domestic market, although it also exports to the United Kingdom and Eastern countries, among others. The watermelon campaign is expected to end around week 26.
For more information:
Indalecio Acién Maleno
INDASOL
Paraje Los Aljibillos S/N
T: +34 950488250
[email protected]
www.indasol.es
