Increased supply pushes price of watermelon down

Abundance in the supply of watermelon has caused the prices to go down again. The tropical fruit, which has been identified as a necessity for the Maldivians during the fasting month of Ramadan, is now available at a price of MRF 8 or less a kilogram. Before the drop, the lowest price for watermelon was MRF 10 a kilogram.

Ali Ibrahim, a farmer from Thoddu, the A.A. Atoll island which has, for years, being the biggest producer and supplier of watermelons in the country, said today that prices of watermelon would probably go down still, as the supply, he predicted, would keep on increasing as Ramadan progresses.

“The crop this time are very good, and demand would be met easily. I believe that even the current prices would still get lower towards the last third of Ramadan”, Ibrahim said.

However, another farmer from Thoddu said that a disease had been spreading in the melon fields of the island, and that supply would soon be reduced and prices would go up. When asked about the problem, Thoddu island Council confirmed the presence of a kind of disease that has been killing crops in some fields, and that they had been working to find a solution.

172 fields in Thoddu are producing watermelons for the season, and it has been estimated each of these fields would produce no less than 500 fruits during the Ramadan. Thoddu would supply watermelons not only to Malé but also to other parts of the country, including L. Atoll and Addu City.