The High Prices of the Spanish Watermelon Mark the Beginning of the 2022 Campaign

Published 2022년 4월 29일

A 40.26% YoY increase in the price of a fresh watermelon shows a solid start to this season. A gap formed in the past week due to an ending of shipments by oversea traders led to increased demand. In addition, heavy rain affected farmers in Spain, especially in the Murcia region, which caused the lack of supply before the Easter holidays. Combined with the higher input cost of production, prices are estimated to remain high.

The watermelon season in Spain has started and will last until mid-September. The first watermelons that reached the market in W2 of April 2022 got a price of USD 1.54/kg, a 40.26% YoY increase from USD 0.92/kg in W1 of April 2021. Demand is good, while supply on the European market is relatively weak.

The weak watermelon supply in Europe is due to the season end for watermelon imports to the EU. Watermelon exporters who export to Spain experienced major transportation issues caused by a lack of containers and increased freight costs. Before the Easter holidays, when the weather was excellent, the demand for watermelons was significant. All quantities that arrived at the retailer were sold very quickly. The offer would have been even better had it not been for the frost and heavy rains in March 2022, which reduced the yield of watermelon, especially in the Murcia region.

Source: TradeMap

Looking at past figures, watermelon production has increased steadily in the past years, making Spain the largest global watermelon producer. In MY 2020, production was 1.23M mt, which increased in MY 2021 to 1.38M mt, a 10.86% YoY uptake. In 2020, Spain was ranked 1st with a and supplied 25.46% of watermelon exports. The total export value of USD 508.91M. Spain is the largest exporter of watermelon in Europe, followed behind Italy and Greece. Germany and France remain top markets for Spain’s watermelons.

According to the Castilla La Mancha Melon and Watermelon Interprofessional, the input costs have increased considerably compared to last year: fertilizer by 250%, electricity by 300%, diesel by 250%, the plastics used for the thermal blanket and padding by 45%. Production costs will no doubt be reflected in the price. However, price is not the only decisive factor in trade. The beginning of this season showed that the offer dictates success. The price in April was high, and the demand was encouraging, but there was an absence in supply at certain moments. Outcomes for the season are unclear. First estimations are that production will be lower by around 40% because of heavy rain. The price will remain high until the available watermelon supply increases later in the year.