Watermelon arrives in the market before Ramadan

Muhammad Ayub Ali :

Watermelon is a popular juicy fruit for iftar during Ramadan. Many people break their fast with watermelon sherbet. Many people want to include fruits like watermelon in their iftar diet.
Meanwhile, the mood gradually starts to warm up after the end of the winter. Overall, watermelons are being seen on the eve of Ramadan. The demand for watermelon sales is increasing.
New watermelons have started arriving in full swing in the market for a week. Watermelons are being sold at TK60-70 per kg in various retail markets in the capital.
However, retailers said that the watermelon market has not yet been saturated. They hope that the market will be saturated when Ramadan begins.
After visiting Rampura, and Karwan Bazar, Purana Palton in the capital on Saturday. It was seen that the crowd of buyers at watermelon shops was relatively large. Some were buying watermelons after bargaining, while others were leaving after hearing high prices.
Usually, watermelon cultivation starts in December. The watermelon season lasts throughout the months of April and May.
However, some early grown watermelons arrive in the market at the end of February or the beginning of March. Currently, only such early watermelons are being sold in the market.
Sellers said that the supply of watermelons is fair now; it will increase further. The watermelons currently seen in the market are small or medium in size. They weigh around three to five kilograms. Large watermelons are very rare.
Currently, watermelons produced in the Barisal region, especially Patuakhali, Barguna, Bhola, and Jhalakathi, are coming to the market more.
A small amount of watermelons are also available in the Chittagong region.
However, watermelons from the Khulna region have not yet started coming to the market. When the season fully starts, watermelons from all areas will be available in the market.
Retailers said that watermelons are being sold at Tk 60 to Tk 70 per kg in various retail markets in the capital on Saturday.
The price of a medium-sized five-kg watermelon will be TK 300-350. However, watermelons are available in slightly lower quantities at Karwan Bazar. One kg of watermelon is being sold at TK 50-60 in this market.
Anis Ali, a watermelon seller at Karwan Bazar, told the New Nation that last year, before the first Ramadan, we sold watermelons for Tk 80 per kg. This year, we are selling them at Tk 50-55. Therefore, the price is TK 25-30 per kg less than last year.
Joynal Abedin, an employee of a private organization, went to buy watermelons at the capital’s Kawran Bazar this morning. The shop asked for Tk70 for one kg of watermelon. Later, he bargained and bought it for TK 65. Hamidul Islam said, “I thought the price would be a little lower.” Since Ramadan has started, I bought it with interest for the first iftar.