Watermelon shortage expected for Tet holidays

The amount of watermelon, which is a favourite fruit used during Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, is expected to fall as traders have been buying the fruit to export to China and cultivation areas drop in size in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

Ba Chien, a trader who buys watermelon in the Delta to export to China, said the weather in Chinese provinces that border Viet Nam becomes warmer during December and January, and as a result, watermelon sales rise.

“Demand for watermelon exports is high, but the domestic supply is small in relation to the demand,” Chien said.

Chien said in three days he was able to buy only 50 tonnes of watermelon in Long An Province as the quantity that was about to be harvested was not large.

Harvesting has begun in some provinces, including Long An, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh and Hau Giang.

The central provinces and provinces in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) will only begin their watermelon harvests in February and March.

Tu Danh, a trader in Long An Province, said Chinese traders had begun to buy more watermelon for the Lunar New Year holiday, thus causing further shortages in Vi?t Nam.

The price of watermelon purchased at fields in the Delta had increased to VND5,500-6,000 a kg according to sizes and types, up 30 per cent against last week because local traders had bought more watermelon for export.

Sau The, a watermelon grower in Long An Province’s Tan Hung District, said watermelon had reached its highest price and scarcity since the beginning of last year.

“My family just sold two ha of watermelon with a price of VND6,000 a kg. After deducting all costs, my family earned a profit of more than VND100 million,” The said.

The increasing volume of exports has affected supply in recent days.

In HCM City’s wholesale markets such as Tam Binh and Thu Duc, only watermelon less than 2 kg is being sold, as local traders have bought fruit that weighs more than 2 kg a fruit to export to China.

During last year’s Tet holiday, most watermelon transported to HCM City came from Long An, Tra Vinh and Hau Giang provinces, but this year the supply is mostly from Tra Vinh Province.

In Long An Province, farmers have grown more than 1,700 ha for the watermelon winter-spring crop 2010-11.

Of that figure, 450 ha have been harvested, according to the Long An Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The area of watermelon cultivated to sell during Tet in Long An’s districts located in Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) region has fallen significantly, as flood waters receded late this year, according to the department.

Many farmers have also switched from planting watermelons for Tet to growing rice this year as the price of rice has risen.

In addition, unfavourable weather conditions and bo tri, a kind of dangerous pest that affects watermelon, have also caused damage to many watermelon cultivation areas in the Delta. — VNS

Tags: Tet holidays