European watermelon market oversupplied, prices also fall in Ukraine

Europe’s watermelon market is experiencing an oversupply in July, putting downward pressure on wholesale prices across most countries. Spain and Greece remain the leading suppliers, with favorable weather conditions supporting strong harvests and steady shipments to European markets.

According to FruitVeB, Spain expanded its watermelon acreage by 11% in the 2025/26 season to approximately 12.3 thousand hectares. Germany, France and the Netherlands remain the main destinations for Spanish exports. In Greece, harvesting in the Ilia region runs from late April through October, ensuring a continuous supply to European buyers.

Seasonal supply has also reached its peak in Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, resulting in lower wholesale prices. Similar price declines were recorded in Uzbekistan during July, while production and exports in Turkey and Iran have remained stable.

The price decline has been particularly noticeable in Ukraine. At Kyiv’s Stolichnyi wholesale market, Kherson-grown Luzitana F1 watermelons from Chornobaivka are currently selling at UAH 11/kg wholesale and UAH 12/kg retail.

Just five days earlier, wholesale prices for early watermelons ranged between UAH 15-17/kg. Market participants had already expected further price declines as larger volumes of field-grown watermelons entered the market, while farmers in the Kherson region anticipated farm-gate prices to fall to around UAH 10/kg.

For comparison, watermelons in Ukraine were selling for around UAH 25/kg during the third ten-day period of July last year. As a result, this year’s surge in supply across both Europe and Ukraine has led to prices falling by nearly half compared with the same period a year earlier.

Tags: Ukraine, EU, prices