Watermelon farmers in Northern districts expect bumper yield

Watermelon growers in the coastal districts are expecting a bumper yield and satisfactory prices for their products in local markets this year as the weather is favourable and Ramadan is near.

The early-yielding varieties have already hit the market, however, buyers complain that the prices are steep. In different markets of Khulna city, watermelon is currently being sold at Tk 45-50 per kg.

Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Khulna divisional office said this year watermelons have been grown on over 24,000 hectares of land in four districts of the region.

Favourable weather, irrigation facilities, adequate fertilisers and full support of the agricultural office are the main reasons for the bumper yielding of the popular summer fruit, said Faridul Hasan, deputy director of Khulna DAE.

The official expects that watermelon farmers of the region will profit over Tk 100 crore during the season.

Farmers of Khulna’s Dakop upazila were seen busy harvesting the fruits and later loading those onto trucks, pickups, and trawlers to sell in different places including Dhaka, Jashore, Khulna, Satkhira, Pirojpur, Bagerhat, Gopalganj and elsewhere in the country when visited by this correspondent last week.

“I have cultivated watermelon on one acre of land this year at a cost of Tk 40,000 and expect to sell over Tk three lakh worth of fruits this season,” said Ranjit Roy, a watermelon grower of Bajua village in Dakop.

The fruit weighing around five kg is selling for Tk 250-300 this year while it was only Tk 200-225 last year, said Mrittunjoy Roy, a watermelon grower of Jharvanga village under Botiaghata upazila.

“Due to favourable weather conditions, the farmers got a bumper production of watermelon all throughout the region this year. The harvested fruits are also of good quality. Fresh and organic watermelon is delicious to eat,” he said.

“However, many farmers had to bear additional production costs to prevent insects from affecting the fruit,” Mrittunjoy said, adding that last year watermelons grew 20 per cent less compared with the current season due to rain.

In the peak season, wholesale traders from different areas including Dhaka come to the Khulna region specially Dumuria, Dakop and Batiaghata upazilas to buy the fruit. However, the majority of the watermelon sold in the markets of Khulna city are brought from Patuakhali’s Kuakata. Due to their good quality, watermelons of Kuakata are currently in demand in Khulna.

A fruit seller of the city’s Moylapota intersection area Anupam Roy said he is buying watermelons from the Kuakata area as they are of good quality.

“I am currently selling the large watermelons for Tk 50 per kg and the smaller varieties for Tk 40-45 per kg. I expect the demand will rise in the upcoming days as Ramadan is near,” he said.

A buyer at the shop, Ziku Alam, said that the prices are high even though this is the prime season for watermelon.

“A large watermelon of 4-5 kg costs about Tk 200-250. It is a bit steep for middle-income people to afford,” he said.

Monirul, a watermelon seller in Rupsha upazila’s Sandhya Bazar area, said that he started selling watermelons early this week.

“The local cultivations have yet to reach the market. The fruits are brought from Kuakata and the prices are a bit high. Most people just ask for the price and leave without buying,” he said.