Morocco Overtakes Spain as Top Watermelon Supplier to EU Market

In the first half of 2021, Morocco sold a total of 202.94 million kilos of watermelon to EU member states (195.75 million in the same period last year), while Spanish sales did not exceed 156.3 million kilos, i.e. 116.94 million kilos less than in the first half of 2020, according to data from the Euroestacom (Icex-Eurostat) statistical service.

With sales exceeding Spanish sales by 29.84%, Morocco is the main supplier of watermelons to the European Union (EU) between January and June 2021. Yet ten years ago, Spanish watermelon sales exceeded Moroccan ones by 165.95%, reports Hortoinfo. Moroccan watermelon exports to the EU were worth 132.4 million euros. The average price was set at 0.65 euros/kg. As for Spanish sales, they amounted to 105.58 million euros, with an average price of 0.67 euros/kg.

With 52.69 million kilos sold for 53.64 million euros with an average price of 1.02 euros/kg in the first half of the year, the Netherlands is the third largest supplier of watermelons to the EU market. Costa Rica (37.5 million kilos of watermelon sold for 30.22 million euros and an average price of 0.81 euros/kg) and Germany (32.6 million kilos of watermelon sold for 25.18 million euros and an average price of 0.77 euros/kg) complete the top 5.