The transformation of the fruits section over recent years has been confirmed, with a steady combined increase in melon and watermelon imports. And while Latin America dominates this market with Brazil at the head, the Mediterranean and African countries, thanks to stronger distribution, are also exhibiting good potential.
After first starting two years ago, the recovery in melon consumption was confirmed during the 2016-17 campaign, with development of the range, between varietal range (Charentais, Cantaloup, Galia, Piel de Sapo, Canari or Honeydew) and expansion to the watermelon. With a 4 % increase in 2015-16, Community imports rose by 10 % last season to reach nearly 380 000 t. Progress has also continued for the counter-season watermelon, with sales doubling in the space of five years (209 700 t, i.e. + 13 % on 2015-16), driven by a new surge from the main origins, especially Morocco and Brazil, with the other suppliers seeming to be following in their wake (Senegal, Costa Rica, etc.).
Brazil is still calling the shots in the counter-season, although the industry is currently facing several difficulties, the first of which is the water resource, highly restricted in recent years by a recurrent drought since 2011 which has reduced yields. In addition, production is being affected by the increasing mineral content of hydrological reserves. However, operators were confident this year with the La Niña phenomenon set to bring back the rains. Yet, in spite of this precipitation, reserves could not be refilled and the salination of the well water forced producers to limit their surface areas, including the biggest companies in the sector, which had been continuing their development hitherto.
Furthermore, although exports maintained a good level, with quality standards for exports holding up, the concentration of end-of-year volumes still led to large stocks forming from November, resulting in very low prices which struggled to pick up before January in 2016-17. The staggering of the planting calendar however enabled the market to gradually settle, with the campaign extending until early March. Conversely, the extension of the Brazilian campaign limited the penetration of the other origins, whether Honduras or Costa Rica, whose campaigns began between mid-December and early January, and finished in April. So the import window for Europe for these origins is narrowing, not to mention the increasingly early development of Spain and Morocco, which bring out greenhouse produce from March-April. So overall exports fell for Costa Rica (111 000 t in 2016-17, i.e. - 10 % on 2015-16), with a decrease in shipments to the European market but also to the US market. Honduras has held up better thanks to the strong desire of the operators to develop exports, including to other markets such as Asia where the origin this year obtained the right to market melons starting in December (Taiwan).
The end-of-year difficulties are also due to a fall in consumption in the festive window, with progress made by numerous exotics, which is whittling down the number of origins, and even leading to the disappearance of some such as Israel. For example, quantities from Morocco are down very considerably, with only a few hectares planted as part of crop rotation, and very small volumes are being received from the French West Indies (primarily Saint Domingue), due to overly frequent weather disruption at this time of year.
Nonetheless, other origins such as Senegal are joining in the party. Since while there were few operators present in the window five years ago, their trials, giving rise to increasing volumes, proved more alluring to vendors, who this year experimented for the festivities. The biggest progress was seen in France, where volumes doubled at the end of the year, going from 400 t between November and December in 2011 to more than 800 t in 2016. They are also seeing a spring surge, in March/April, increasing fivefold in five years (2 500 t in 2017 as opposed to 500 t in 2012). The growth is a little less visible at European level, though still tangible since melon imports from Senegal went from 12 000 t in 2012-13 to 14 400 t in 2016-17. This boom is also a result of the policy conducted by the Senegalese government, determined to make horticulture one of the pillars of its development as part of the national agriculture productivity booster programme (Pracas), which in turn comes under the national emergence plan (PSE).
One of the objectives of Pracas is to achieve self-sufficiency for certain products (e.g. onions, with an annual objective of 350 000 t), and take counter-season fruits and vegetables exports to 157 500 t from 2016-17. To this end Senegal received technical support from the IMF, which invested in 19 projects between 2015 and 2017, including modernisation of infrastructures, especially the Thiès-Touba motorway and Mbour-Thiès airport, or the increase in annual electricity production capacity. The rise to prominence of this origin could however overshadow FWI produce, which is still holding up in France from January to April (3 000 t), for the moment buoyed by home-grown preference, though its value could be under threat.
While Morocco has abandoned the winter slot, it seems to have regained some form in spring 2017, with a fairly favourable campaign consolidating the developments of recent seasons. The market is well controlled, with fewer operators which through their presence in most of the production zones manage the marketing calendar more comprehensively. However, they are not targeting either too early a slot, with demand often lacking, nor an attempting to extend the campaign, to avoid overlap with Spain. So the first volumes were sold last year around mid-February, though the real beginning of the season for the Dakhla zone is in early March. The first production peak came during March, with full potential at the end of the month, which was sufficient to satisfy demand given the climate conditions at the time. The progress of the supply in April is still difficult to control in spite of greenhouse surface areas being set up in the Marrakech zone. The handover between the end of the Dakhla zone and open-field production in the Marrakech zone is still often tricky. During the last campaign, it resulted in a production trough during the Easter holidays, whereas the open-field production peak in the Marrakech zone is often very high, destabilising the market in April/early May before overlapping with Spanish greenhouse production, which is on an upward trend. Surface areas stabilised last year, at least in Dakhla (more than 250 ha) and overall the Marrakech zone (1 000 ha), according to the figures announced at Medfel. Only the Agadir/Taroudant zone registered another fall (100-150 ha).
While the progress by melon volumes can be explained by better control of the market, and the establishment within the melon species ( Cucumis melo) of a complete range, with yellow varieties such as Canaris or green melons, on top of the more traditional Cantaloup, Charentais, Piel de Sapo or Galia, we must also highlight the impact of the expansion into watermelons ( Citrullus lanatus). The suppliers are indeed the same, though with a slightly different ranking: Morocco, where production has literally exploded in recent years, is the number one. Exports, still small a few years ago, have increased tenfold in the space of just five years, with planting in earlier zones making it possible to supply the market starting from spring. Thus production has shifted from the central and northern regions (Tanger, Tétouan, Gharb, Doukkala, Rabat-Salé) toward the more southern regions (Tadla & Souss and Haouz), which now represent 56 % of surface areas. There has been less marked progress for the other Mediterranean or African origins, though significant progress has been made by the big Latin American origins such as Brazil (+ 137 % in five years) and Costa Rica (+ 48 %).
Cécilia Céleyrette, consultant
c.celeyrette@infofruit.fr
Si le Maroc a déserté le créneau hivernal, il semble avoir retrouvé quelques couleurs au printemps en 2017, avec une campagne assez favorable qui conforte les évolutions de ces dernières saisons. Le marché est, en fait, mieux maîtrisé avec moins d’opérateurs qui peuvent, en étant présents dans la plupart des zones de production, gérer plus globalement le calendrier de commercialisation. Cependant, ils ne ciblent ni une trop grande précocité, faute souvent de demande, ni un prolongement de la campagne pour éviter le télescopage avec l’Espagne. Les premiers volumes ont donc été commercialisés l’an dernier vers mi-février, mais le réel début de saison de la zone de Dakhla s’est plutôt situé début mars. Le premier pic de production a eu lieu dans le courant du mois et le plein potentiel fin mars, ce qui a suffi à contenter la demande compte tenu des conditions climatiques du moment. Le développement de l’offre en avril reste encore difficile à maîtriser en dépit du déploiement des surfaces sous serres dans la zone de Marrakech. Le relais entre la fin de la zone de Dakhla et la production de plein champ sur Marrakech demeure souvent délicat. Il s’est encore traduit, durant la dernière campagne, par un creux de production pendant les fêtes pascales, tandis que le pic de production en plein champ sur Marrakech est souvent très fort, déstabilisant le marché courant avril/début mai avant de se télescoper avec la production sous serre espagnole qui tend à se renforcer. Les surfaces se sont stabilisées l’an dernier, tout au moins sur Dakhla (plus de 250 ha) et globalement sur Marrakech (1 000 ha) d’après les chiffres annoncés au Medfel. Seule la zone d’Agadir/Taroudant enregistrait encore une baisse (100-150 ha).
Si le développement des volumes de melon s’explique par une meilleure maîtrise du marché et le déploiement au sein de l’espèce melon ( Cucumis melo) de toute une gamme avec des melons jaunes de type Canaris ou des melons verts, en complément des plus traditionnels Cantaloup, Charentais, Piel de Sapo ou Galia, il faut également souligner l’impact de l’élargissement aux pastèques ( Citrullus lanatus). Les fournisseurs sont d’ailleurs les mêmes, avec un classement un peu différent, le Maroc, où la production a littéralement explosé ces dernières années, arrivant en tête. Les exportations, encore faibles il y a quelques années, ont été multipliées par dix en l’espace de seulement cinq ans avec la plantation dans des zones plus précoces permettant de fournir le marché dès le printemps. La production s’est ainsi délocalisée des régions du centre et du nord (Tanger, Tétouan, Gharb, Doukkala, Rabat-Salé) vers les régions plus au sud (Tadla et Sous et Haouz), qui représenteraient désormais 56 % des surfaces. Le développement est moins marqué pour les autres origines méditerranéennes ou africaines, mais il est fort pour les grandes origines latino-américaines comme le Brésil (+ 137 % en cinq ans) et le Costa Rica (+ 48 %).
Cécilia Céleyrette, consultante
c.celeyrette@infofruit.fr
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