The watermelon that revolutionised Europe has turned 25 with good forecasts and a great future ahead of it.
The Spanish watermelon production campaign is about to start and the leading company in this produce category, Anecoop, is already offering its first volume forecasts.
This year, the organisation has a produce volume that is between 120,000 and 130,000 tonnes, of which around 75% corresponds to the seedless watermelon, Bouquet. The remaining 25% is divided up between black-skinned watermelon with seeds and the watermelon with micro-seeds.
The production calendar for seedless watermelon, of which 100% is grown in Spain, covers a large part of the Mediterranean Arc: it starts in April in Almeria, and then extends to Murcia, Alicante, Valencia and Castellón. The productions from Seville and Castilla-La Mancha complete the campaign’s calendar. This arrangement in the production is one of the insignias of the Bouquet concept, which also include produce availability, regularity and homogeneity in its quality parameters, making Anecoop’s watermelons highly attractive for retailers.
Constant innovation is one of Anecoop’s premises within its sales strategy and watermelons are not an exception. In its two Experimental Fields in Almeria and Valencia, under glass and in the open air, the company is working on reviewing its production processes, looking for areas for improvement, as well as new, more efficient growing methods, with greater production yield and lower costs. Furthermore, every season it tests the new varieties that are appearing on the market, from amongst which it selects the ones that meet the flavour, size and quality parameters that consumers want, in addition to being profitable for farmers and offering a good logistic performance.
The work developed in this area is crucial. In fact, 25 years ago, the seedless watermelon that Anecoop launched onto the market was of a single variety: the Reina de Corazones.
Today, the Bouquet watermelon programme is made up of a set of varieties within each of the four types of watermelon that are included in the seedless range: Red, Yellow, Mini and Black.
Currently, Bouquet seedless watermelons represent 20% of watermelons produced in Spain, as well as Spanish exports of this produce.
