France: From 5 to 10 euros each, why the melon is so expensive at the start of the season

For the past few weeks, your melon and prosciutto may have cost you more in fruit than in ham. Since the start of the season, Charentais melons, whether they come from France, Spain or Morocco, have reached stratospheric prices. To offer you the star fruit of Cavaillon, you will sometimes have to pay around 5 euros a piece. When it's not more. On an E.Leclerc drive from the west of France, Charentais from the Mylibon brand (Boyer group, one of the most important French producers), you will even pay 10 euros. At this price, you can cross your fingers that it is good. While melons are generally more expensive at the start of the season when production is lower, this year prices are breaking records. There is certainly inflation with production costs which have swelled by 30% this year with the increase in the prices of energy and raw materials. But that's not the real explanation. It is above all the lack of supply that explains the high price level of the past weeks. The capricious ...