Chame Watermelons crossing the Atlantic Ocean

By: Ivan CastillaDuring the last couple of years, the worldwide demand for exotic fruits has increased significantly. These fruits, also known as tropical fruits, are mainly produced in emerging countries.

While most tropical fruit is consumed inside the country of production, a rising demand for tropical fruits in developed countries has increased international trade significantly. The increase in demand has also resulted in the need for new procedures, including the implementation of quality and phytosanitary regulations on crops and post-harvest handling procedures, to help ensure the fruit meets the quality requirements of the countries importing them.

La Faustina is an estate located on Chame’s riverbanks in Nueva Gorgona, This is where a company called BlackJack is growing Quezali watermelons for export.

The owner of the project, engineer Oscar Estrada says the company has been exporting watermelons for 12 years, harvesting between 120 and 150 containers per year. However, this year they expect to surpass 180 containers.
“Works begins in October when the groups managing the land cleaning start and then sowing and growing of seedlings that need about 4 months until they are ready for harvesting. This process involves about 250 workers, coming from Boca Del Toro, Chiriquí and Coclé provinces. Local workers represent only 15% of the total.”

The engineer also says: “Our product’s final destination is Europe, mainly Holland and Spain; we comply with all required phytosanitary regulations that are mandatory on the European Union and manage to export a top quality product; all that work is done in our estate including the harvesting process, selection, cleaning, packaging and transportation of the product.”


Field work is closely controlled by foreman Mr. Wong, who has been working with Engineer Estrada and his team of about 60 to 80 workers, for 6 years. Mr. Wong is dedicated to the cleaning, harvesting, packaging and transportation of the watermelons.

Planting work.

The watermelon, as Mr. Wong explains, requires full sun for an optimal cultivation, with temperatures ranging from 25 to 30 degrees Celsius (77 to 86 F). This plant, while growing well throughout dry season, must be irrigated at the beginning of the plantation to guarantee good returns.

The process occurs in deep, clay soils with good drainage, putting between 2 or 3 seeds in the holes at a depth of 2 cm. Typical spacing is of 2mt x 2mt, and the best time for planting is between October and November.

Harvest.

For the workers, it is very easy to know when the fruit is ready for harvesting.

“The color of the fruit changes from an intense green to a white color and an experienced harvester needs only to look at the fruit to known which one is ready to be cut.”
Another sign that the fruit is ready for harvesting occurs when the fruit’s contact area with the soil turns a creamy-yellow color and a hollow sound is heard when knocking the fruit with the knuckles. During the harvest, the teams perform the harvesting task with a well-sharpened knife leaving a small extension of the stem with the fruit. If the fruit is well handled and stored in the appropriate conditions, it can easily last between 14 and 21 days.

Classification, packaging & transportation.

Watermelons are then transported to the wagon and then unloaded to initiate the classification process.

For Engineer Pedro Quezada, chief of the selection & packaging team, work begins very early in the morning, with selecting the harvested product. The discarded product is put apart and stored in a courtyard. The fruits will be sold at the local market or gifted to institutions, canteens or schools. Prices vary between $0.25 and $1.00 depending on the size of the fruit and the reasons for discarding. The primary reason is phenotypic characteristics such as mellowing, deterioration, decay, soft areas, sunburns, insect damage, excessive scars, cracks, sunken areas, bruises, transit abrasions or other mechanical damages, deformations or immaturity.

The chosen ones are then sent to a cleaning and packaging process that is performed on a working line composed of about 120 persons. This team prepares the packages, transports and selects the fruits, packaging them and transporting them to their pickup destination.

Watermelons are packed in a cardboard box with a double Wall, containing openings on the superior and inferior parts, are important to guarantee the ventilation of the fruit. These boxes are stacked on pallets that are then moved with forklifts to the shipment area. This method of movement avoids excessive of the manipulation of the fruit and minimizes possible damages inside the boxes.

After this lengthy process of four months a delicious product that competes internationally is received. While it takes more than 250 collaborators, they are all proud to know their effort was worth it.