Is melon season here yet?

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 05. 31. 10:59

Thanks to the favorable spring weather, the domestic watermelon season can start already at the beginning of July this year, bringing the usual date significantly earlier. According to the forecast published by Agroinform.hu, melons were planted on about 3,000 hectares in the country, which represents a slight increase compared to last year. If the weather remains favorable, producers expect similar purchase prices to last year.

According to Sándor Nagypéter, the vice-president of Fruitveb and the president of the Southern Földi Gardeners’ Cooperative, the domestic melons may hit the markets earlier this year, replacing the currently available Spanish and Greek import melons. This advance in date is possible because the ripening time of the imported melons also fell earlier than usual. Nagypéter added that the expansion of domestic supply is not expected to cause oversupply on the market.

The report highlights that in recent years, the area under melon production has started to grow, which was especially significant in the county of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, where a 35-40 percent increase was registered. Customer preferences are also changing, more and more people prefer melon varieties with fewer or no seeds. Instead of traditional large watermelons, the demand for smaller ones weighing 3-5 kilograms has increased, as they are easier to store in households.