Favorable Season for Iranian Golden Honey Melon

Iran is the biggest fruit producer in the Middle East and North Africa. Melons are one of the main fruits produced and exported by Iran. The Iranian Golden Honey Melon, also known as sweet melons, is a niche product that is gaining more and more popularity across Europe. The difference between Golden Honey Melon and other types of melons is that the Iranian golden Honey Melon is brightly yellow-colored and oval-shaped, unlike other honey melons that tend to be round. In addition, compared to other honeydew melons that weigh around 3.5 kg, the Iranian Golden Honey melon is smaller in size and weighs only 2.5 kg.

The Golden Honey Melons are mostly grown in the Semnan province, located in the northern part of Iran. Around a third of Golden Honey Melons produced in Iran are exported to other Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq, UAE, Oman, and Qatar. These countries account for 60% of Iran’s total melon exports. The remaining 40% is shipped to Russia, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria.

In 2018 around 6K tons of Golden Honey Melons were produced and this year the production level is expected to be higher due to favorable weather conditions. “The long rainy season helped replenish the water sources and the quality of melons is just perfect regarding the juiciness. This year also had enough sunny days to ripen and sweeten the melons to an optimum level,” states Baharan Mansouri from KTL Company, an Iranian fruit exporter.

Iranian Golden Honey Melons are harvested around 30 to 40 days earlier than the melons from competing exporting countries such as Turkey, Greece, and Morocco, which gives the Iranian exporters a competitive edge. Even when other countries, such as Turkey, start exporting their melons, the Iranian Golden Honey Melons will still remain competitive due to their taste and juiciness. Because of the strong sun exposure, the Iranian Golden Honey Melons tend to be sweeter than other types of honey melons. For example, according to KTL Company Iranian Golden Honey Melons tend to have a Brix level between 13 and 14 whereas other honey melons have a Brix level between 10 and 12.

In addition, the Rial to Euro/Dollar rate nearly tripled compared to the exchange rate last year due to U.S. sanctions on Iran. A low Iranian Rial relative to other currencies means that the importers of Iranian melons have to pay less, which increases demand. The lower prices of Iranian melons abroad will bring the Iranian exporters more opportunities in foreign markets. Furthermore, high inflation and poor economic conditions in Iran are motivating the fruit exporters to increase their shipments abroad instead of selling domestically. As such, KTL Company expects that Iranian melon exports in the 2019 season will increase compared to last year.

Along with the currency devaluation, the heatwave in Europe is also expected to increase the demand for Iranian melons. To meet the increasing demand, KTL company is to increase production by 10%~20% in 2020. In recent years, Iranian fruit exporters have made significant improvements in the packaging and sorting methods to comply with the more strict regulations in the European market.