SALEM: Watermelon harvest has increased significantly compared to previous years, yet sale is yet to pick up even though summer is around the corner.
Watermelon, a seasonal fruit, is sold for a minimum of `20 per kg in the retail market in Salem district. It is sold as slices for`10-`20 in the shops, depending on the size. Further, usually in summer, many prefer the fruit over tender coconut as the latter is sold for a minimum of `30 a piece.
As the State saw heavy rains last year, farmers, especially watermelon cultivators in Tiruvannamalai, Chengalpet, Villupuram and Cuddalore districts reaped a good harvest, district farmers said.
Salem procures 100 to 150 tonnes of watermelon. Also, the district, being the hub for transporting watermelon across Tamil Nadu and other States, handles around 300 tonnes each day in this period.
Speaking to TNIE, M Murugan, a retail seller, said, “The fruit can be harvested in 58 days and must be consumed by the next 4-5 days. This year brought a good harvest. Usually, from the second week of February, watermelon sales begin to gain speed. But due to climate change, most places in the State remained cold till first week of March.
So, people were not interested in buying the fruit. Later in March, as sales started to rise, due to occasional spells of rain, people again stopped buying the melon.
We expect that within the next 10 days, heat levels may shoot up and thereby increase our sales.” S Umar, a wholesale trader at Shevapet in Salem City, said, “At present, only 40 tonnes of watermelon comes into the Salem local market per day. We would procure about 20 tonnes of watermelons.
During season time, overall sales hit up to `1 lakh per day. But now we only get `30,000 a day. So we have been procuring only 5-6 tonnes from farmers.”