Spain’s Fashion watermelon association AGF is anticipating a 7.7 per cent increase in production of the black-skinned, seedless variety this campaign to over 70,000 tonnes compared with 2009.
The organisation, which is based in Almería and represents 25 leading watermelon producers in Spain, last year marketed more than 65,000 tonnes of Fashion-branded watermelons in Spain, Germany, France and the Scandinavian region.
Production, which covers some 1,100ha, is concentrated primarily in Almería where 72 per cent of the crop is grown, as well as other regions of Spain bordering the Mediterranean.
The AGF told regional daily El Almería that together with an increase in production, it also expected sales of Fashion watermelons to rise by 5 per cent for 2009 as a whole compared with last year.
