Watermelon growers are in trouble due to the low demand for Myanmar-grown watermelons in Muse border trade area

Farmers say they are having trouble even covering their logistics costs due to a slump in demand for Myanmar-grown watermelons in the Muse border trade area.

As the sales of watermelons declined in Muse, the melons traders face difficulties to get even the logistic costs back, said melon farmers.

One tonne of melons now fetches from between 600 yuan (K128,000) to 1200 yuan depending on the quality of the fruit, said U Sai Khin Maung, vice chair of the Muse Fruit Wholesale Centre.

Although the watermelon is grown in Myanmar year round, most of the melons harvested from November to May are exported to China via Muse.

“The melon market has been poor for about one month. During a time of low consumption in our major market, we have had a bumper crop. The crop this time was also of lower quality,” U Sai Khin Maung said.

“As the melon traders have to pay labour charges, vehicles costs and fees to transport their crop to the Muse 105th Mile trade area, they shoudl consider the situation of the market,” he advised.

Muse Fruit Wholesale Center released a statement on November 10 calling on farmers to grow better quality fruits as watermelons are one of Myanmar’s most important export products.

“Previously, we received about 3 yuan per kilo of melon. But, we get only one yuan per kilo even if the fruits are good quality and fine. We can’t say the prices are normal,” said U Kyaw Thaung, a melon farmer.

The melon market is slow currently, so my current crop will be sold in Muse only after November 25, U Kyaw Thaung said.

At present, a great number of melons are flooding into the Muse market, and the glut is causing transportation are problems, and we want to avoid problematic situations between growers, drivers and the sales centre, the wholesale centre said in its statement.

“The current watermelon market isn’t good, but I think it will look up again in a matter of weeks. I expect high-quality fruit to be able to fetch up to 1400 yuan per tonne. For low-quality fruit, we at times have to sell 17 tonnes for only about 3000 yuan. Then we can’t cover the original cost of the watermelons. We can hopefully cover the transportation cost with our sales,” said U Win Naing, head of the Melon Growers, Producers and Exporters Group.

As the market is currently depressed in Muse, the situation and other costs should be taken into account; and the growers and exporters should only sell or export good quality fruit, the Muse Fruit Wholesale Centre  urged.

Those who want to sell melons to Muse should consider getting necessary information about the Muse market, and consulting fruit brokers, U Win Naing suggested. – Translated

(The Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/low-demand-hits-watermelon-growers.html )

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