Hungarian melons are flowing out of the country: You wouldn't guess where the best goes

Published Nov 28, 2024

Tridge summary

This year, Hungary's melon season started earlier, with peak harvest in mid-July. Despite a heatwave temporarily lowering purchase prices, producers maintained reasonable prices throughout the season. Domestic sales were stable, while exports grew, especially to Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, due to climate change and higher transport costs impacting Southern European melons. Watermelon and cantaloupe cultivation areas increased by 10-15%, with further growth expected. Challenges include finding buyers for surplus crops, adapting to consumer preferences for smaller and seedless melons, labor shortages, and the need for coordinated production and market access.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

This year, the melon season in Hungary started two to three weeks earlier than average, at the end of June. The harvest was already at its peak in mid-July, at which time due to the heatwave, the purchase prices fell due to the products appearing on the market at the same time, but apart from that, the producers were able to sell the melons at reasonable prices at the beginning and at the end of the season. A demand market was already established from the beginning of August, the season was ended by a significant cooling at the beginning of September. Producers had a mediocre year, sales on the domestic market did not increase, but there was an expansion in the export markets - it was said at the joint season evaluation event of the Melon working group of the National Horticultural and Supply Industry Department of the National Chamber of Agriculture and the Hungarian Melon Growers Association. Based on the preliminary data, the area of watermelons in Hungary increased by 10-15 ...

Source: Agronaplo