Melon prices triple depending on store, forum claims
Forum users report melons cost €3.30/kg in local shops vs €0.99/kg in supermarkets, while farmers receive just €0.30.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Melon prices triple depending on the retailer, according to a forum user
The same melon can cost €3.30 per kilo in a local fruit shop and €0.99 per kilo in a hypermarket, as reported by a forum user based on their shopping experience. The difference, they argue, is not a labeling error but the margin each link in the supply chain chooses to apply. In the case of watermelon, the price range described goes from €1.50 per kilo in neighborhood stores to €0.75 in large supermarkets. According to their calculation, someone paying €24 for two melons at the first establishment could get the same purchase for less than €7 at the second. The question raised is who keeps the difference.
Why the same melon costs three times more on two different streets
The first variable pointed out by participants is the channel. A local fruit shop buys at wholesale markets, pays for its own transport, and absorbs spoilage losses in a small premises. A hypermarket negotiates annual volumes, imposes prices on suppliers, and uses fruit as an loss leader to fill shopping carts. This structural differential would be reflected in the pricing, according to this explanation.
The second factor is variety and size. Not all melons are equal, and consumers rarely have a way to verify quality, notes another participant. Some argue that locally sourced fruit has better flavor and texture, and comparing prices without comparing quality is misleading. This argument holds weight, they add: a plum or cherry from a specialized stall does not resemble one from the supermarket aisle. However, they believe this does not explain why the same basic product jumps from €0.99 to €3.30 without any change in cultivation.
What the farmer earns versus what the consumer pays
The most uncomfortable data appears at the source. One participant states that in the field, melons are paid around €0.30 per kilo. This would miccionan the farmer receives less than a tenth of what the final buyer pays in the most expensive channel. The gap between the first and last links is so wide, they argue, that any cost increase—fuel, fertilizers, labor—is amplified when it reaches the checkout.
Some claim that if retail prices fall below €1 per kilo, producers lose money. This calculation is not far-fetched, according to another user: if intermediaries keep most of the margin, only a fraction reaches the farm, barely covering costs. The practical consequence noted is that fewer people grow melons and watermelons, leading to concentrated supply.
The consumer who compares and the one who cannot
The most common response among shoppers is the obvious one: do not buy. If melons are priced at €3, leave them on the shelf. If watermelons rise from €1 to €1.50 in days, wait for the price to drop. Participants say this is the only real leverage consumers have in a market where prices are set upstream.
The problem is that this leverage does not work equally for everyone. Those with time and mobility can visit three stores to find the €0.75 per kilo option. Those buying from the only fruit shop in their neighborhood pay whatever is charged. The difference between the two is not about judgment, but access.
Seasonality and the fruit calendar
Melons and watermelons are seasonal products, and their prices fluctuate with the calendar. During peak harvest, supply surges and prices drop; outside the season, imports drive costs up. Experienced shoppers recall seeing kilos priced at €0.69 on offer two or three years ago and wait each season for hypermarkets to repeat the promotion.
This price memory is also a trap, some argue. What cost €0.30 per kilo in the field three years ago now costs more to produce, yet the pass-through to retail is not proportional. Fruit has become a thermometer for the entire shopping basket: rising quietly, falling less than it rose, leaving consumers with the feeling that someone is profiting somewhere in the chain they cannot see.
With these disparities, consumers should logically migrate en masse to the cheapest channel. This does not happen. Local fruit shops continue selling melons at €3, and hypermarkets keep using them as bait. No one fully explains why the same product sustains a price three times higher without breaking the market.
The same melon can cost €3.30 per kilo in a local fruit shop and €0.99 per kilo in a hypermarket, as reported by a forum user based on their shopping experience. The difference, they argue, is not a labeling error but the margin each link in the supply chain chooses to apply. In the case of watermelon, the price range described goes from €1.50 per kilo in neighborhood stores to €0.75 in large supermarkets. According to their calculation, someone paying €24 for two melons at the first establishment could get the same purchase for less than €7 at the second. The question raised is who keeps the difference.
Why the same melon costs three times more on two different streets
The first variable pointed out by participants is the channel. A local fruit shop buys at wholesale markets, pays for its own transport, and absorbs spoilage losses in a small premises. A hypermarket negotiates annual volumes, imposes prices on suppliers, and uses fruit as an loss leader to fill shopping carts. This structural differential would be reflected in the pricing, according to this explanation.
The second factor is variety and size. Not all melons are equal, and consumers rarely have a way to verify quality, notes another participant. Some argue that locally sourced fruit has better flavor and texture, and comparing prices without comparing quality is misleading. This argument holds weight, they add: a plum or cherry from a specialized stall does not resemble one from the supermarket aisle. However, they believe this does not explain why the same basic product jumps from €0.99 to €3.30 without any change in cultivation.
What the farmer earns versus what the consumer pays
The most uncomfortable data appears at the source. One participant states that in the field, melons are paid around €0.30 per kilo. This would miccionan the farmer receives less than a tenth of what the final buyer pays in the most expensive channel. The gap between the first and last links is so wide, they argue, that any cost increase—fuel, fertilizers, labor—is amplified when it reaches the checkout.
Some claim that if retail prices fall below €1 per kilo, producers lose money. This calculation is not far-fetched, according to another user: if intermediaries keep most of the margin, only a fraction reaches the farm, barely covering costs. The practical consequence noted is that fewer people grow melons and watermelons, leading to concentrated supply.
The consumer who compares and the one who cannot
The most common response among shoppers is the obvious one: do not buy. If melons are priced at €3, leave them on the shelf. If watermelons rise from €1 to €1.50 in days, wait for the price to drop. Participants say this is the only real leverage consumers have in a market where prices are set upstream.
The problem is that this leverage does not work equally for everyone. Those with time and mobility can visit three stores to find the €0.75 per kilo option. Those buying from the only fruit shop in their neighborhood pay whatever is charged. The difference between the two is not about judgment, but access.
Seasonality and the fruit calendar
Melons and watermelons are seasonal products, and their prices fluctuate with the calendar. During peak harvest, supply surges and prices drop; outside the season, imports drive costs up. Experienced shoppers recall seeing kilos priced at €0.69 on offer two or three years ago and wait each season for hypermarkets to repeat the promotion.
This price memory is also a trap, some argue. What cost €0.30 per kilo in the field three years ago now costs more to produce, yet the pass-through to retail is not proportional. Fruit has become a thermometer for the entire shopping basket: rising quietly, falling less than it rose, leaving consumers with the feeling that someone is profiting somewhere in the chain they cannot see.
With these disparities, consumers should logically migrate en masse to the cheapest channel. This does not happen. Local fruit shops continue selling melons at €3, and hypermarkets keep using them as bait. No one fully explains why the same product sustains a price three times higher without breaking the market.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (121 replies).
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