Mexico: Early melon prices high

At the start of the early melon harvest, estimates are that the producers of Laguna de Durango will…

At the start of the early melon harvest, estimates are that the producers of Laguna de Durango will harvest between 70 and 80 tons of melon per hectare.

Producers expect the early melons will achieve prices of five pesos or more per kilogram before the regular season, when prices could fall to 30 cents per kilo because of different factors, such as the intermediaries and an overproduction of fruit.

Luis Antunez Medina, the former deputy at the ejido La Mina, in Lerdo, said producers obtained the early melons under the risk of being damaged by frost because it would give them the possibility of achieving better market and export prices.

"By the time the normal harvest begins, when prices plummet because of a lack of organization, an overproduction, and commercial intermediaries, we will start preparing the ground so that we can take advantage of the late melon varieties," he said.

He also stated that they had implemented new systems to harvest melons, which would allow them to reduce costs and the workers to avoid physical wear, as they no longer had to perform the activity by hand.

In general, the producers from La Mina have been dedicated to the production and marketing of marble for years; however, they have involved themselves in agricultural activities, such as melon cultivation.

They have had to meet a series of requirements so that they can sell their product in the domestic market but also to export to countries, like the United States and some European countries.

They've been producing melon complying with the guidelines established by the National Health Service, Food Safety and Quality (SENASA) for about three years, and Antunez Medina said they were ready to perform their first shipments to foreign countries this season; where they could achieve better prices than in the region.

Moreover, Antunez Medina said that the ejido had the necessary infrastructure, such as greenhouses, water storage system, and drip irrigation, and adequate pest control necessary for export.