During his visit to the Gregal cooperative society in Torre-Pacheco, Antonio Luengo, the Minister of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, stated that the Region of Murcia is Spain's leading melon exporter, accounting for half of all exports and nearly 47% of sales.
Last year, the Region exported 169,000 tons of melons for more than 143.2 million euro, Luengo stated. "Despite the decrease in the harvest caused by the intense rains and hail, especially in the first plantations, the Region continues to be, by far, Spain's biggest melon exporter."
The main destinations for Murcia's melon were Germany, which received about 49,000 tons last year; France, with almost 42,000; and the Netherlands, with just over 31,000 tons.
In 2022, the Region of Murcia had just over 4,600 hectares devoted to the cultivation of melon which produced nearly 172,000 tons. The Region produces yellow, Galia, Cantaloupe, and Piel de Sapo melon. It's worth noting that 97% of the area devoted to melon production is found outdoors, and the remaining 3% is in greenhouses.
Gregal is one of the largest producers of Galia melon in the world, and also produces pepper, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, pak choi, kolrabi, celery, cabbage, artichoke, potato, and citrus fruits.
It was founded in 1979 by eight farmers from the Campo de Cartagena under the name of Sociedad Agraria de Transformación Santa Cruz, which in 1993 was changed to Gregal Sociedad Cooperativa. It is currently constituted by 141 partners, has more than 2,700 hectares of crops, and markets more than 90,000 tons of production. More than 85% of its products are destined for export. The EU countries are its main destinations.
Source: carm.es