In recent years the mini watermelon has experienced an important period of expansion caused by an increase in demand in Central European countries. However, during this campaign some companies have slowed down production in order to regulate the offer to the real demand. At Coprohníjar, this has been translated into a move of between 15 to 20 hectares of surface area used for mini watermelons over to other larger sized watermelons, which have increased in price over the past campaign. Juan Segura, chairman of the company, confirmed to Fruit Today that with this step they intend to adapt to the real needs of the market and to optimise their crops. And it should not be forgotten that, in spite of continuing to be profitable, mini watermelons require a greater investment in manpower and a special care.
In the large watermelon segment Coprohníjar’s commitment to the Red Jasper variety by Syngenta is worth mentioning. Cultivation of this variety was started last year and currently, it is used for 100% of the large sized watermelon production. “We have opted for this variety due to its incredible quality, ripeness, sugar content…”, the chairman explains.
With respect to the ecological line, the company already has 10 hectares for the two types (mini and large), a figure that will continue to grow over the next few years. “We have several farms that are undergoing reconversions, and in two years’ time we will have between 100 and 110 hectares for all our references (mainly tomatoes and watermelons)”, Segura advances.
For 2017, they are maintaining the total watermelon production figures with respect to the previous year, around 15 million kilos, as well as the land available for cultivation, 200 hectares. As always, they will leave the marketing of their watermelons to Anecoop, of which they are members, and this year they will celebrate together the 25th Anniversary of the launching of the seedless watermelon, Bouquet, onto the market, a project that Coprohníjar started up.
