István Nagy: Hungarian melon season starts with good quality melons

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István Nagy said at a press conference held at the Lidl Hungary logistics center that currently more than 1,300 farmers grow watermelons and 310 cantaloupe.

The number of watermelon growers has increased by nine percent compared to last year, and the number of cantaloupe producers by fifteen percent

Watermelons are currently grown on 3,590 hectares, and cantaloupe on 707 hectares; While the area under watermelon cultivation remained the same, that under cantaloupe increased by sixty-two percent compared to last year, the Minister of Agriculture explained. István Nagy also spoke about the fact that Hungary still has opportunities for melon exports, with Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland being the main target countries. Melon exports increased by 31 percent last year compared to the previous year, he added. István Nagy stated that in the domestic trade of watermelons, supermarkets account for 60-65 percent, while markets, greengrocers and roadside sales account for 35-40 percent. He added that the annual per capita consumption of watermelons ranges between 10-12 kilograms and that of cantaloupe between 1.5 and 2.2 kilograms.

MTI