The fields are full of watermelons. After three months of tireless work, Barguna's watermelons are moving from the fields to market. Farmers hoped for profit from this year's bumper crop, but reality paints a different picture. The price rises each time the fruit changes hands: a watermelon sold for Tk 150 reaches the market at up to Tk 600 after four hands. So although it is the season's first crop to reach market, farmers are being denied a fair price.

The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection says retailers are pushing up prices, and it is running regular drives to control this.

Visits to farmers' fields, traders, wholesalers and retailers found that watermelons pass through four hands from farmer to retailer and reach buyers at nearly four times the price. Traders usually buy from farmers, sometimes by contracting a whole field, sometimes by the piece. Watermelons bought by the piece are sold to wholesalers in the capital and elsewhere in the country. Farmers are selling each watermelon from the field for Tk 150. After passing through traders and wholesalers, it is graded by size and reaches retailers at Tk 300. The retailer then sells that same Tk 300 watermelon to buyers for Tk 500 to 700, a profit of 60 to 130 per cent.

While wholesalers and retailers double their money, farmers are not getting a fair price, and consumers caught by the syndicate are forced to pay high prices. Under the agricultural marketing law, a maximum 30 per cent profit is allowed from farmer to retailer, yet in practice retailers are making 60 to 130 per cent.

According to the Barguna agriculture department, watermelon cultivation has grown this year because of good prices last year. Watermelon grown on 12,300 hectares has an estimated market value of Tk 1,700 crore. Cultivation in Barguna exceeded the set target of 8,300 hectares.

Watermelon farmer Abdul Mannan told Jago News the yield was good this year. He has grown watermelon on 10 kani of land and, spending about Tk 2 lakh per kani, hopes to make a profit of Tk 50,000.

Nayan Mia, a watermelon farmer in the Labangola area, told Jago News angrily: "We toil here for three to four months to grow the crop. Fertiliser and pesticide prices are higher this year, and labour and food costs are all up. But traders are buying watermelons from us for only Tk 80 to 120, while our watermelons sell in the market for Tk 300. We are always at a loss."

Abul Kalam, a trader from Patuakhali, told Jago News how the sale works: "When the watermelons are ready, we buy the farmer's field. We buy the crop of one kani, by the local measure, at Tk 4 to 6 lakh. With harvesting, transport and tolls, each watermelon costs us about Tk 200, and we sell it to the wholesaler at an average Tk 220. Last year prices were high at first but fell later. This year prices are fairly good."

Wholesaler Aiyub Ali Khan told Jago News that demand for watermelon in Barguna market is normal during Ramadan. "Demand is normal. Medium and small watermelons are in greater demand than large ones. Watermelons are currently available in the market for Tk 100 to 250," he said.

Jasim, a watermelon retailer, told Jago News supply was low and so prices were high: "Apart from early watermelons, not all kinds have reached the market yet, so the price is a little higher. I buy watermelons at Tk 180 to 400 and sell them for Tk 200 to 500 depending on size. We buy from the wholesaler, and whether the fruit is good or bad, it is on us. But when selling, customers won't take the bad ones."

Buyer Al-Amin Hira complained that watermelon prices were beyond ordinary buyers' reach. "It is now the peak of the watermelon season, so there are plenty in the market, but the prices are out of reach for ordinary buyers. A Tk 200 watermelon is being sold for Tk 400 to 500. It seems to me watermelon is no longer a consumer good but a luxury," he said.

Barguna's agricultural marketing officer Md Shahjahan Ali told Jago News that under agricultural marketing rules, a 30 per cent profit is allowed on watermelon from production to the consumer. "There are some irregularities in the market, which we monitor regularly. When we go to the market prices stay right, but as soon as we leave they try to charge more again. Traders are also taking advantage of our lack of awareness as consumers. Consumers must be aware too," he said.

Suchandra Mondal, assistant director of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, told Jago News that retailers were raising prices. "Since the start of Ramadan we have been monitoring watermelon from the fields to the retail market. The prices at the field and trader level are reasonable. But retailers spread across different parts of the market are charging more than necessary. A watermelon sold for Tk 270 in the wholesale market is selling for Tk 500 to 600 at retail. We are running regular drives," he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.