Many watermelon orchards in Gia Lai throw away fruits that do not meet quality standards or are underweight – Photo: BONG SON
These days, the watermelon fields on the Chu Prong plateau in Gia Lai province have entered harvest season. But instead of the cheerful laughter of previous crops, this crop of watermelons, every farmer is "depressed" because the price of watermelons has dropped, causing heavy losses.
According to research, the current purchase price of watermelons in the field is only about 1,000 - 2,000 VND/kg depending on the size and quality of the fruit. Last year, the purchase price of the previous crop in the area was from 6,000 - 8,000 VND/kg.
Walking along the vast melon fields in the communes of Ia Piơr, Ia Lâu, Ia Mơr… there are many places where people dump or throw away poor quality, small melons.
It is known that most of the watermelon growers in Chu Prong district are people from Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces who rent land to grow seasonal crops because this area has weather and soil very suitable for watermelon. The watermelon acreage of this district is up to nearly 300 hectares.
Watermelon prices in Gia Lai at the end of the year dropped to only 1,000 VND - 2,000 VND/kg - Photo: BONG SON
Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh, owner of 4 hectares of melons that are about to be harvested, said that these days she is so worried that she can't eat or sleep. Having grown melons for many years, Ms. Khanh has never seen a year when she felt the risk of losing as much as this year. According to her, many people lost everything this season, and even if they sold all the melons, they still wouldn't be able to pay the land rent.
According to the owner of this melon field, this year there was a lot of rain so the melons were rotten, the rest were hard, did not grow to the right size or color. Almost every garden owner lost several hundred million dong depending on the cultivated area.
Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Van, a long-time watermelon trader, said that the low price of watermelon is due to the low weight and poor quality of the fruit.
“With the quality of this year’s melons, the purchase price is only like that. We sell to wholesale customers for only 1,000 – 1,500 VND/kg. When going to many gardens, the owners cry and ask for more, but it is difficult to support because our prices are too cheap. It is true that at this price, the growers will not have enough money for wages,” Ms. Van acknowledged.
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