Hot weather, Cua Lo melons are selling for twice the price but still 'sold out'

Farmers in Nghi Huong ward (Cua Lo town) harvest melons. Photo: Thanh Phuc

At 5:00 a.m., Nghi Huong ward residents poured into Dien Bien fields.melon harvestto sell to traders to take to markets and transport to coastal shops to sell to tourists.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh, a melon grower, said: “This season, my family planted 1 sao of melon, started planting in May and is now harvesting. Compared to the main melon crop in early April, this season, melons have a better harvest and higher prices. Currently, the price of melons in the field is 15,000 - 17,000 VND/kg; retail price at markets is 20,000 - 23,000 VND/kg (twice as high as the previous melon crop). As soon as melons are harvested, traders buy them all. After deducting expenses, each sao of melons makes a profit of 8-10 million VND.”

Compared to the previous melon crop, this crop's melons are bigger, more beautiful, of better quality, more productive and especially have a higher selling price. Photo: Thanh Phuc

If the main melon crop was harvested from the end of April, the unfavorable weather, continuous rain affected the productivity, income was not good, but this melon crop, the hot weather made the melons big, even, beautiful, and the productivity was also higher. In particular, thanks to the hot weather, this cooling fruit is very popular with tourists, the selling price is therefore twice as high as the previous melon crop.

Also because many households suffered losses from the previous melon crop, some households switched to other crops, reducing the melon growing area to more than 3 hectares. Therefore, entering the peak of the hot season, especiallytourists come to Cua Lo for vacationIn winter, melons are not enough to meet market demand.

Melons sold at traditional markets cost from 20,000 - 23,000 VND/kg. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Nguyen Thi Duyen, who planted 1.5 sao of melons last season, only planted less than 1 sao this season. When the melons just started to turn yellow, traders ordered the entire field at a high price. "Currently, many customers are calling to ask for melons, but they have all sold out. With the hot weather like this, melons are very popular with tourists. Refreshment stalls are constantly ordering, but in just a few days, the entire melon field will be out of harvest season."

According to statistics from the Nghi Huong Ward Farmers' Association, with an area of ​​over 3 hectares, good harvest and good price, each hectare brings in an income of about 200 million VND. After deducting expenses, people still make a profit of over 150 million VND/hectare, 7-8 times higher than growing rice.

It is the peak of the hot season and summer tourism, market demand is very high but the melon fields in Nghi Huong ward are almost out of harvest season. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Next year, Nghi Huong ward will mobilize people from other blocks to expand the area of ​​melon cultivation to change the crop structure, increase income value per unit area. At the same time, there is a plan to connect the output for this melon product; mobilize some households to experiment with rotating planting of this melon variety to extend the harvest time during the peak hot season from the 6th lunar month to the end of the 7th lunar month./.