Outrage in the watermelon and melon sector. The members of the general assembly of the Interprofessional of Castilla-La Mancha have denounced this week the smear campaign against these fruits that, according to their criteria, has been flooding social networks and mobile communication tools such as WhatsApp for almost a month.
As they have released in a statement, professionals in the field believe that it is an orchestrated campaign that seeks a decrease in prices to the detriment of producers. All this, through strong promotional movements that have turned melons and watermelons into popular products in large supermarkets.
Why did the price of watermelon skyrocket?
But… Where is the origin of all this? At the beginning of June, consumers raised their hands to their heads when they saw the price of watermelon in the supermarket. And it is that, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, in week 21 of this year, from May 23 to 29, the average price at origin of watermelon reached 84.79 cents per kilogram.
This represented an increase of 9.33 cents compared to the previous week. In week 21 of 2021, from May 24 to 30, the ministerial registry placed the original price of watermelon at 26.9 cents per kilogram. Therefore, and this ultimately had an impact on its cost in large stores.
As we already explained, there have been several reasons that led the sector to this situation. On the one hand, the decision of the Spanish countryside to dedicate fewer hectares to watermelon and melon after two campaigns of low prices. Initially, in mid-April, expectations placed a cut in watermelon production of 25% compared to 2021.
However, in the economic balance carried out in mid-May, and after knowing the first marketing data, the figures obtained were even worse and were close to a reduction of 50%. A low production that was also accentuated by the meteorological instability that took place last spring. The haze, storms, and rain depleted a large part of the plantations.
To the low supply, which led to record prices, was also added. On the other hand, there was a great demand in Europe due to the high temperatures that were registered in the main export countries. Germany, France, Poland and the Netherlands are some of the destinations for the watermelon produced in Almería.
Prices have already stabilized
However, from the sector they warned that there was room for the situation to improve and for production to recover in the final stretch of the season. They emphasized that once production grows. And that is what the producers now claim, who believe that “the rise in prices was something specific”, always derived from a lack of product that is already normalized. So much so that the prices at origin of watermelons are now at levels similar to those of last year. In the last week, the price drops to 26.76 cents per kilogram.
Interprofessional asks the administrations to act immediately. On the one hand, they demand that the Food Chain Law be complied with and unfair practices be prosecuted. On the other hand, the support of the Ministry of Agriculture is requested to launch a campaign to stimulate consumption and help the sector to combat the defamations that, in his opinion, are being poured out on melons and watermelons. It is considered that the image of these fruits is being framed as that of luxury products, something that they believe has nothing to do with reality.
The agency understands that “all the links in the Food Chain must have their commercial margins” but denounce that it is always “at the expense of the producer”. Carlos Jiménez, president of the Interprofessional, recalls that “last season there were losses of 4,000 euros per hectare”, a situation that cannot be repeated as it would mean “the ruin of the sector”.
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