PROPERTY SEARCH
Spring rains and scorching temperatures wipe out Alicante watermelon harvest
Melons and watermelons in Alicante now cost twice as much as they did last summer
Melons and watermelons are fruit synonymous with the Spanish summer, a cooling and refreshing treat that no fridge or beach cooler is complete without. But in Alicante, no sooner has the produce hit supermarket shelves that it’s snapped up, highlighting the worrying supply problem caused by a disappointing harvest.
And while the fruit that is available is generally smaller and lower quality, it’s still costing shoppers 50% more than last year. During the summer of 2022, a kilo of watermelon was priced at around 70 cents in most greengrocers, while now it’s hard to find for less than two euros.
But farmers argue that they are not the ones pushing up the prices, even though watermelon is “one of the most expensive and costly” fruits to sow, and raw materials remain sky high.
On the contrary, the Agrarian Association of Young Farmers (Asaja) in Alicante has reported huge losses due to the sweltering temperatures and enduring drought.
“Watermelons are 90% water and in their final phase they need a lot of water. If they lack it, everything is lost,” a spokesperson explained.
In the Valencian Community as a whole, Asaja believes that melon and watermelon producers will lose around 44 million euros this year on a harvest that is expected to yield less that 35,000 tonnes – that’s 52% less than in 2022. The outlook is even worse for the humble melon: a harvest of just 17,000 tonnes will represent a 53% production drop.
But it’s not only the record temperatures that have practically wiped out the crops, according to the experts: “The intermittent rains in May and June, together with mild temperatures, caused many fruits to spoil.” This, of course, “on top of the hailstorms in June.”
Despite the dire situation, the Association of Supermarkets of the Valencian Community (Asucova) insists that “there will be no shortage” of the fruit this summer since the large supermarket chains are turning to regions other than Alicante to top up their supply.
Image: Freepik
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