charentais melon

Amidst unremitting talk of food price rises, French interprofessional organisation Interfel this week released figures demonstrating a sharp decrease in prices for a number of fruit and vegetable products.

According to the organisation, over the last two weeks prices of melons, cucumbers, courgettes and artichokes have hit a three-year low for this particular period.

Last week, consumers could pick up a charentais melon for €1.50, 12 per cent less than three years ago. Courgettes are being sold for €1.22 per kilo, 15.5 per cent less than the 2005-2007 average. Similarly, prices of artichokes and cucumbers have fallen by 14.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively in comparison with their three-year average.

Interfel attributed the drop in prices to an enormous influx of produce onto the market thanks to the extremely clement weather conditions. The organisation also revealed that the situation had got so bad that some producers had started to destroy merchandise.