Nghe An watermelon is in full harvest season and still 'in high demand'

Growing 5 sao of melons on alluvial land, these days, Mr. Nguyen Van Tien and his wife (Hop Tan hamlet, Thuong Tan Loc commune) stick to the melon field to harvest. This year, due to little rain and severe drought at the beginning of the season, melon yield has decreased; in return, harvesting during the hot season has resulted in quite high prices.

Selecting ripe melons to cut and sell to traders who had placed orders in advance, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Van, Mr. Tien's wife, excitedly said: "This year, each sao harvested about 1.4 tons of melons, down from last year. However, at this time, the weather is hot and the market demand is increasing, so as soon as the melons ripen, traders place orders to buy them all. Thanks to the sun, the melons are sweet and sell for a good price."

Accordingly, at the beginning of the season, the price of melons was 6,000 VND/kg, now that the harvest is in full swing, the price of melons has increased by 500-700 VND/kg for wholesale to traders, and 10,000 VND/kg for retail. In previous years, the price of melons was usually higher at the beginning of the season, the season was in full swing, and there was a lot of supply, so the price of melons decreased slightly, but this year, the price of melons has increased, so people have made a good profit.

Mr. Nguyen Van Long, an agricultural official of Thuong Tan Loc commune (Nam Dan) said: "The whole commune has about 200 hectares of watermelon, mainly grown on alluvial soil and colored areas. This year, the yield is estimated at about 25 tons/hectare, down from previous years. However, the price of watermelon in the main season is quite stable, on average, each hectare of watermelon brings people 50-60 million VND in profit. In addition to the spring-summer crop, people also grow summer-autumn melons."

Considered the “watermelon capital” of Nghe An, these days, farmers in Nghia Dan are also focusing on harvesting this “cooling” fruit. In the hundreds of hectares of watermelon fields in Nghia Yen, Nghia Lam, Nghia Mai, Nghia Binh, Nghia Son… people are excitedly picking watermelons; trucks from the North come to buy, creating a bustling scene.

Currently, the whole Nghia Dan district grows about 550 hectares of watermelon. The economic efficiency from watermelon is quite high, so Nghia Dan people have gone to Nhu Xuan (Thanh Hoa), Quynh Thang (Quynh Luu), Nghia Binh (Tan Ky)... to rent land to expand the area.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Thuy (Son Dong hamlet, Nghia Son commune, Nghia Dan district) rented nearly 5 hectares of land in Quynh Thang commune (Quynh Luu) to grow watermelon. After deducting land rental costs, input costs and labor, he earned more than 200 million VND in profit from this watermelon crop.

“This year, the melon crop is not good, but the selling price has been stable since the beginning of the season, so we have made a good profit. Currently, grade 1 watermelons are being imported to traders at a price of 7,000-8,000 VND/kg, grade 2 watermelons are 5,000-6,000 VND/kg. After deducting investment costs and land rent, the profit is about 60 million VND/ha,” said Mr. Thuy.

Despite the peak harvest season, the price of watermelons has increased due to many factors. Firstly, the weather is hot these days, so the demand for watermelons is high; secondly, this year, many fruits such as lychees and plums in the northern provinces have had poor harvests, so watermelons are easy to sell; moreover, China has also increased its purchases, so watermelons are easy to sell and have good prices.

At the same time, people have also had experience in planting in different seasons, introducing new, high-quality varieties so that the market is more favorable, the melons are not harvested at the same time so the pressure on consumption is also stretched. "Currently, in addition to the traditional green-black watermelon variety, Nam Dan people have introduced high-quality watermelon varieties: seedless watermelons, striped watermelons, yellow-fleshed watermelons... to meet consumer tastes. Many types of melons priced from 20,000 - 25,000 VND/kg are still out of stock," said Mr. Ho Dinh Thang, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Nam Dan district.

Mr. Pham Viet Thai, a trader from Quang Ninh who buys melons in Nghia Son commune (Nghia Dan) said: “Every day, our two trucks buy about 30 tons of melons for local people. This year, the price of melons has increased by about 700-1,200 VND/kg compared to last year and has been stable since the beginning of the season. We buy as much as people harvest, so there is no backlog of goods.”

In addition, during this hot season, cantaloupes, honeydew melons, and honeydew melons are in their harvest season but are also popular in the market and sold at higher prices than previous years, so people are very excited.