Melon and watermelon producers concerned about production costs increase

The melon and watermelon campaign in Murcia (Spain) will start in 3 months. The farmers and companies of the Association of Producers-Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables of the Region of Murcia (Proexport) are already working on the planning of their plantations to guarantee the availability of the product, but facing the problem of rising production costs in this sector.

The results of a study carried out by producers-exporters from Murcia, Almeria and Alicante project a year-on-year increase of 21.1% in the production costs of watermelon and melon. Some companies project increases close to 30%.

Producers hope that Spanish and European distributors, their purchasing centers and intermediaries will be sensitive to this reality, share costs with production at origin and rigorously program their orders, to enable sufficient supplies and support farmers and companies.

The sources that have increased the most are energy (+77.9 %), fertilizers (+36 %), agricultural plastics (29.3 %), irrigation water (+12.6 %), labor (+8 %) and packaging (+26 %). Industry experts are concerned that these rises may worsen due to factors exogenous to the sector.