The Brazilian melon season is proving a tough one for exporters this season as the sector battles currency and productivity issues.
"Senders are having a bad season," said Darren Matschull of importer JO Sims. "They have had problems with poor yields because of the weather and incidence of leaf-miner. Also the Brazilian currency is moving the wrong way against the dollar. On top of that the market here is quite poor and prices are not so good."
There are at least another six weeks of shipments to come out of Brazil which would mean availability in the UK well into March and most growers are not looking beyond the current campaign yet.
"It has been a hard season so far and I think people will want to review, but once it's over," said Matschull. "It's too early to be planning for next season."
The sector in Brazil had a good year in 2002-03 and according to JO Sims, many growers planted more and programmes increased. As a result volumes have been up even though productivity has not been good.
