Adana watermelon gets a boost from ‘EURO 2024’

This year, the European Football Championship to be held in Germany brought joy to watermelon producers in Adana. The kickoff of the football celebration in the European Football Championship will take place in Munich on June 14, 2024. In the month-long championship, the football teams of 24 countries, including Turkey, will compete to win the trophy. Adana, where Turkey’s earliest watermelons are harvested, is exporting tons of watermelons to Germany and many other European countries, primarily upon the request of German companies.

“Made our farmers happy”
During the harvest, Yüreğir Agriculture Chamber President Mehmet Akın Doğan, speaking to Ihlas News Agency, said that the coincidence of production in Turkey with the European Football Championship being held in Germany brought joy to farmers during this period. Doğan stated, “This year, watermelon made our farmers happy. In the middle of June, we have the European Football Championship, and hopefully when all the watermelons are gone from here, both the producer and the trader will be happy. There is no problem with watermelons at the moment. After all our watermelons are collected from here and sent to packaging facilities, they are packaged there and sent directly abroad.”

“Awaiting with hope”
Doğan, stating that the yield of watermelons is good, said, “We expect a yield of 8-9 tons per hectare in the field for watermelons. If the prices continue like this, our farmers will be happy. If prices drop, there may be a problem. In past times, when there was a Football Championship in Europe, our watermelon prices remained good until the end of the championship. This year, too, we will wait hopefully. It is very important for us that the Adana watermelon continues until July 15, and if the price of watermelon continues like this, our farmers will make money.”

“Will have a doping effect”
Pointing out that if the Adana watermelon becomes profitable, the cultivation area will increase even more next year, Mehmet Akın Doğan said, “There are 105,000 hectares of watermelon cultivation in Adana. We expect a yield of 700,000 tons from here. We also expect the Adana watermelon to be appreciated this year. We expect the European Football Championship to have a doping effect on watermelon. Our watermelon is highly sought after in Europe. Medium-sized watermelons are very popular in Europe.” Farmer Mahmut Fırat, who grows watermelons in Karataş, said he is happy to export watermelons to Europe.