'Our spring crops are going well, after the weather problems that affected the winter crops,' said Manuel Soler, president of the Murcia federation of co-operatives, Fecoam. 'The wet weather lifted and now broccoli, iceberg, capsicum and cabbage crops are experiencing more normal conditions and product quality. Volumes coming through are in line with usual for the time of year and we are not seeing any excess production. Quantities therefore are being readily absorbed by the market, both domestically and for export.' Nevertheless, the weather problems did bring some stability to the market, as crop losses reduced volumes and led to a firming in price levels. 'Stronger prices have gone some way to making up for the deficit in volumes experienced by some growers,' said Soler.

Meanwhile, producers in the region are now starting to plan for the melon season. Plantings are expected to start in the next couple of weeks and continue throughout March and April.

Galia is forecast to dominate production with yellow melons second followed by watermelon and Piel de Sapo types.

'Area under production of Galia is likely to remain more or less stable compared to last year,' explained Soler. 'However, we expect yellow melon plantings to decline slightly and Piel de Sapo and watermelon to show a slight increase in acreage.' Piel de Sapo is increasing in popularity on the Spanish domestic market, giving rise to a greater number of plantings.

The watermelon sector is boosted by a greater number of plantings of seedless types. 'These varieties are increasingly popular and this year production in Murcia is forecast to be split roughly equally between seeded watermelons and seedless varieties,' said Soler. 'Last year the split was more like 60:40 in favour of seeded watermelon.'

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