are longing for a campaign that is normalised from production to consumption”

The chairman of the melon sector at Proexport, José Cánovas, explains to Fruit Today magazine how the water shortage and the ever-changing weather conditions, both at source and at the destinations, are marking the melon campaign. His wish is clear: normalisation

What do you expect from this campaign?

In this week (week 20), I can say that we are experiencing some uncertainty about the weather conditions. We had an April with Maylike temperatures and a May with rainfall, and we have had events such as hail in Lorca. The production is ahead of a normal campaign and this is not good.

Could this generate any divisions between the different production areas?

Yes, in these circumstances, and with the ever-changing weather conditions we are experiencing, this could happen. We have gone from being ahead due to the warm weather, to weeks of low temperatures, both in Murcia and in La Mancha. We don’t know when this division might occur, but there is a high likelihood that it is going to happen. We are living through a time of tense uncertainty as, a few weeks before the harvest, what we least want is rain, and this is what the weather forecasts are predicting. Wind and humidity are also not good at the present moment.

How is the sector handling the important restrictions imposed in the Mar Menor area?

We are a highly resilient sector and we have known how to adapt ourselves to these restrictions and even, if possible, how to become even more professional. We are complying with the existing legislation and we practice high precision farming: we have all kinds of technology to control the nitrogen level used, the irrigation water, etc. The sector is responding: they are spiking our wheels, but they cannot say that we are not meeting all the regulations, particularly when they continue putting more obstacles in our way.

The Region of Murcia, along with the northern part of the province of Almeria and southern Alicante are some of the areas worst hit by the water problem. How is the situation being handled? Is this problem causing the productions to be moved?

Water is a transversal problem for all farmers. The water quotas per hectare are what they are, and they are restricted. Last April, with a temperature of 32 degrees, the water requirements were very high, but now we are seeing some relief due to the drop in temperatures. Although we can use desalinated water, and in these circumstances it is a real lifeline, we have yet to see how we will reach the end of the campaign.

Without water, there is no production and, yes, we are seeing production movements both in Murcia and in La Mancha, in the search for better irrigation options, although the situation this year is complicated in almost all the areas. And this is not just the case of melons; it affects other fruit and vegetables as well.

With the few plant protection solutions that are left, are you worried about any pest in general?

We are worried about powdery mildew due to the high temperatures in April, and also aphids could turn into another problem. They have taken away our traditional solutions and, at the moment, the fields have no tools to fight against these types of problems.

On a scenario where melon consumption continues to fall, while watermelon is on the rise, what consumption prospects do you foresee?

The start has been tough for the Almeria productions. In two weeks, we have seen an extreme drop in prices at source as a result of the bad weather in central and northern Europe. The demand at present is low because it is closely linked to the weather at the destinations.

The most concerning point is that in the Region of Murcia we are ahead of the campaign. They are trying to delay the melons from Almeria to be able to market them in line with European consumption. If Almeria delays and Murcia is early, we have a problem, although this could change in a matter of weeks.

What a difference from one campaign to another!

Yes, they have nothing in common. This year the prices at source are disastrous. This is causing serious concern because last year was completely different. It is a complete contrast.

In the same way that last year the media emphasised the shortage of our products, I would like them to talk about the fact that this year with these prices we are helping to fill Spaniards’ and Europeans’ shopping baskets.

In any event, could the lack of stone fruit benefit the sector?

As producers, we empathise with the difficult times being experienced by the stone fruit sector due to a lack of water in

Catalonia and for just the opposite reason in Italy. Yes, it is sad to say it, but obviously this situation could give us more opportunities as a sector. At the moment, melons are the cheapest fruit.

I suppose that this situation could mean that European retailers are thinking about significant promotions. What is your view of the situation?

At the moment, the European distribution sees us as a cheap product to pull the consumers in. They want to sell. The programmes over the next few weeks indicate that watermelons will be on the European supermarket shelves at 0.99 euros a kilo. From my point of view, it is going to be a dry run, because if consumers don’t start buying at this price, we will have no idea what to do next. In any event, promoting consumption based on price without good temperatures could be a truly new experiment. The result is completely unknown.

In general, I know that the retailers want to increase sales and there will be promotions of the different varieties every week. The game will be a long one.

The rise in costs has led to some months of half-hearted slowdowns…

In spite of the fact that the produce is being sold very cheaply at source, nobody should think that the general costs have dropped. We have seen some decreases in certain inputs, but in February we had to increase the minimum wage by 8% and irrigation with desalinated water is quite a lot more expensive. In the final calculation the costs have not gone down. The great problem is the demand; but we cannot produce to sell at 0.99 €. Our wish involves the campaign becoming normalised, both for the producers and for the consumers, with temperatures that are normal for the time of year. We didn’t like what happened last year. European buyers need the produce and they are ready to carry out their campaigns.