"The Dumara watermelon campaign started well then, from May 25th onward, the high temperatures led to early ripening causing a surplus on the market, which almost halted also because summer is late in Europe, meaning that demand is slower," reports Alberto Nocera, president of Agrieuropa from Terracina (Latina).

Agrieuropa started its watermelon campaign in mid-May, as always, to end in early September. Unlike the previous campaign, this year it planted 50 hectares less of large grades (up to 15 kg). For all the other types, programs are in line with 2023.

"Production is scarce in Italy at the moment and prices dropped a couple of weeks ago. We are now trying to ask buyers for a higher remuneration, which would correspond to a few eurocents more."

"The situation is completely different for mini-watermelons: it seems like consumption is not picking up, demand is slow and prices are low. This is true both in Italy and abroad and we cannot seem to understand the reason. As for larger fruits, Europe is and remains our reference market however, now that the temperatures are increasing, demand is coming in from domestic operators as well."

"This campaign is not very linear precisely due to the unstable weather, which is causing full production and gaps to alternate. Producing watermelons is becoming increasingly difficult in this climate, without mentioning the higher number of insect and fungal attacks."

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com