You have to wait until July for the honey-sweet Hungarian watermelon

(Photo: Pixabay)

The seedling growing period in domestic melon production started with favorable prospects this year, but frost damage occurred in the case of plants planted early – at the end of March, beginning of April. Then, warming came in mid-April, and thanks to the favorable weather, farmers involved in melon production began planting seedlings en masse. After that, the plants developed rapidly, but the process was set back by the cool May. According to the meeting of the Watermelon Working Group of the National Horticulture and Supply Industry Department of the National Chamber of Agriculture, the start of the melon season is expected to be later than in previous years. Watermelons grown in plastic tents – which only make up a small portion of melon production in our country – will be available in smaller stores around mid-June, while open-field melons, which represent a large commodity base, are expected to appear on the market in the first week of July. The earliest harvest this year will also come from the Békés and Baranya regions, while the August watermelon supply will be provided to a greater extent by the Eastern Hungary region. In the latter case, planting without covering has only started in the past few days, and producers are hoping for a good season.

The situation of domestic melon production has stabilized in recent years, the decline in the size of the production area stopped in 2022, and since then it has been increasing year by year. Based on preliminary information, the surface area will continue to expand this year, with farmers planting watermelons on an area 10 percent larger than last year, bringing the total commercial production area to 3,700 hectares. In Békés County, 1,320 hectares are used for watermelon cultivation, and in the Eastern Hungary region, 1,350 hectares of production area are being utilized for this purpose this year. Heves County is also a significant player, with news of approximately 377 hectares of commercial production area.

The positive trend continued in the case of melons

Farmers are cultivating sweet-fleshed melons on a 15 percent larger area this year, approximately 500 hectares. Spring frost damage also played a role in the latter area increase. Some of the producers planted melons on frozen fruit plantations in order to mitigate the damage. In the case of watermelons, 170-180 thousand tons of produce can be expected to reach consumers from the 3,700-hectare production area. Domestic domestic consumption has been around 110-120 thousand tons for years, so it is expected that there will be plenty of high-quality Hungarian watermelons for export markets. Foreign demand is certain, but competition is getting fiercer every year; in addition to southern European watermelons, Moroccan watermelons are also putting serious pressure on the European market. In order to maintain the domestic market position and to find and acquire export markets, it would be necessary to strengthen producer organizations. A serious transformation is needed in this area, as we can only maintain the domestic market and raise melon exports to a higher level if organization becomes general in the sector.

NAK