People in Bangladesh are used to eating watermelon in summer. But now, with the monsoon over and autumn here, the fruit is still in the markets. Seeing so many watermelons in fruit shops, buyers may wonder whether the season is still on.
In fact, cultivation of year-round watermelon has increased in the country over the past few years, which is why it is available out of season. It sells retail at Tk 60 to 80 a kg. These watermelons are somewhat smaller than seasonal ones and come in different colours. Muskmelon is also on sale alongside, at the same price.
Mostly from Khulna
Dhaka sellers say year-round watermelon comes mostly from the Khulna area, though it is grown to a greater or lesser extent in some other districts too. High demand and good profits for the off-season fruit have made farmers keen. Cultivation has grown several-fold in the past four or five years, and it can be grown three times a year.
The agriculture department says these watermelons are grown by the mulching method (on trellises). They can be grown without trellises, but trellises give a better yield. With this method, watermelon can be produced at all times except three or four months of winter. Because the profit is high for a low cost, farmers are dropping other crops for it. Spending Tk 60,000 to 65,000 per bigha yields fruit worth Tk 1.5 lakh to Tk 2.5 lakh. However, the agriculture department has no data on how much land is under year-round watermelon or how much is produced.
In Dhaka's markets
The main selling centres in Dhaka are Karwan Bazar and Badamtoli, where several trucks of watermelon arrive every day for retail markets across the city. Wholesale prices are Tk 55 to 60 a kg. In Rampura, Badda and Gulshan, almost every fruit shop has some watermelon.
Shipon Hossain, a fruit seller in Rampura, said watermelon at this time of year was unthinkable even three or four years ago, and it is surprising to see so many at the wholesale depots now. Buyers are keen, he said, but these taste a little less good than seasonal watermelons.
Asim Kumar, owner of Cumilla Fal Bhandar in Merul Badda, said these watermelons are a little smaller, at most seven or eight kilograms. Most weigh two or three kilograms, and the coloured ones can weigh as little as one kilogram.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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