Watermelon prices drop in Yadgir

Watermelon farmers along the Bhima riverbank and in irrigated areas are at risk of significant losses this year due to a sharp decline in prices in the open market.

Presently, watermelons are fetching a price of ₹20 per kg, which is very little compared to the initial price that had crossed ₹45 to ₹50 a kg in January.

“I have planted in my two acres of land and spent around ₹70,000 per acre from land tilling to harvesting, hoping for high profit. But the current condition ruined my hopes, and I am selling fruits for ₹5 a kg,” Basavaraj, a farmer, said.

The reasons for the price crash are different, including excess cultivation and reduced demand. Some even linked it to the ongoing war in West Asia, which according to the farmers, has hit exports.

The official sources in the Horticulture Department do not believe that it has anything to do with the war. However, they said that the area under watermelon cultivation had increased and a high quantity of local production may have caused the decline.

“The area under watermelon cultivation has reached 1,000 acres this year, and ₹26 to ₹29 a kg was the initial price. But it has now declined to ₹6 to ₹8,” Raghavendra Ukanal, Deputy Director, Horticulture Department, told The Hindu.

Wholesalers from Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad are the key purchasers in the Yadgir district. But this year, they didn’t come the second time after the initial purchase in January.

“When outsiders didn’t show interest, the local traders and growers brought fruits to the open market, and it has caused price fluctuations,” Channappagouda Mosambi, a fruit dealer said.

A woman street vendor from Naikal village, who is sitting just near Subhash Chowk, and two local traders, Shankar and Maheboob, who are stationed with watermelon-filled autorickshaws near Laxmi Nagar and the old bus stand, are worrying about how to recover the loss.

A watermelon vendor in Yadgir.
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“We stocked a high quantity of watermelon, expecting good sales on the occasion of the Ugadi and Id festivals. But the current condition ruined hopes. Having no option, we have to sell it at a lower price,” she said.