Zayida Khatun was haggling over a watermelon. She wanted to buy it by the piece, but the seller would not agree and insisted she buy by the kg, at Tk 90 a kg. At that rate even the lightest watermelon (4 kg) came to Tk 360 a piece. In the end, Zayida Khatun went home without one.

A visit to the traditional Shambhuganj bazar on the outskirts of Mymensingh town on Tuesday afternoon (4 March) found no shortage of watermelons. Some sellers were selling at Tk 80 and others at Tk 90 (the report says "a piece" here). Buyers consider these prices too high. A handful bought the nutritious fruit, but many who wanted to went back after haggling, so sales are low. Even so, the sellers are not lowering prices by selling by the piece.

Zayida Khatun told Jago News that her husband works in a factory in Bhaluka in the district. She lives with her son and daughter in the Raghabpur area, a little way from Shambhuganj bazar, and the household runs on the money her husband sends. Her husband's younger brothers have separate households, so she has to do the shopping herself.

"I came to buy a watermelon for the children, and dates as well. I thought I could buy a watermelon for under Tk 200. When I got here I saw they were selling at Tk 90 a kg. Even the smallest watermelon cost Tk 320. So I didn't buy one and bought a kg of dates instead," she told Jago News in the local dialect.

Another buyer, Md Zahir, said: "Every seller in the market is selling watermelon at a different price. If you buy at Tk 80 a kg the quality is not good. Even at Tk 90 a kg it is white inside. Still, the sellers are not selling at a fair price."

Elderly Abdul Hannan, who lives next to the market, told Jago News angrily: "The officials concerned do not monitor the market regularly, so everyone raises prices as they like. If mobile courts ran regular drives, watermelon prices would come down to a tolerable level, and low-income people could buy this nutritious fruit as they wish."

Explaining the high prices, seller Ruhul Amin told Jago News that wholesalers are selling to them at high prices by the piece. If they sell by the piece to customers with some profit, customers think it is too expensive, so they sell by the kg. That has reduced the number of watermelon buyers, "but there is nothing we can do", he said.

Farhad Mia, who was selling watermelons, told Jago News: "I have watermelons weighing from 4 kg to 6 kg. Since everyone is selling by the kg, I am too. I started selling watermelon 15 days ago, but there are very few buyers. Still, prices can't be cut, because every year we wait for this season to sell watermelon. Once a year you can make a little more profit selling watermelon than other fruit."

Abdus Salam, assistant director of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection in Mymensingh, said drives will be run to check sellers' receipts for buying watermelons. If evidence of cheating customers is found, appropriate action will be taken.

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