Melon and watermelon harvest has started in the Bafra Plain: Sweet products are on the shelves

Watermelons planted in an area of approximately 13,500 hectares in the Bafra Plain of Samsun and muskmelons grown in an area of 9,500 hectares under cover have begun to be harvested. ‘As sweet as sugar’ products have taken their place on the shelves.

Starting the season at 60,000 lira per hectare, the price of watermelon has now dropped to 35,000 lira per hectare. It is expected that the price of watermelon, which has a cost of 25,000 lira per hectare, will rise again in the coming days. Watermelon producers stated that the burnt watermelons from Adana are being sold cheaply in supermarkets, which in turn has lowered the market prices.

Mehmet Bilgiç, who grows watermelons in Karaburç Village, said, ‘Watermelon had a good start to the season this year. They bought the fields at a high price. But currently, the market is slow, there are no sales. Adana’s sunburned watermelons have fallen into supermarkets. Supermarkets buy cheaply and sell them for 9-10 lira per kilo. It has greatly reduced our market. Currently, prices have dropped to 30-35,000 lira per hectare. Already the cost is 25,000 lira. We started the season between 50,000 and 60,000 lira per hectare. They said ‘watermelons in Adana got burnt’. Then there was a rapid decline. We have started to harvest the black watermelons now. The red watermelons have about a week left. We expect to recover around the 15th of this month. Around the 15th-20th, this area will coincide with Bilecik. Adana will finish, and we will find what we hope for. Prices were faster last year. This year also started quickly but the results are slightly better compared to last year. We anticipate there will be some liveliness.’

Melon producers are satisfied

The harvest of covered muskmelons planted in an area of 9,500 hectares in the Bafra Plain of Samsun has also begun. Many producers who started planting covered muskmelons on April 25 are harvesting themselves because the daily wages of workers are 1,150 lira. Bilgiç brothers, who said they do not have marketing problems, stated that the high yield is due to favorable weather conditions. Producer Yunus Emre Bilgiç said, ‘Today we are harvesting our first melons. Bafra melons are now on the market. Prices range from 8.5 to 9 lira per kilo. When melons in the plain start to appear, prices also drop. We expect prices to rise in the coming days.’

Producer Yavuz Selim Bilgiç said, ‘We are currently harvesting the first crop of covered muskmelons planted on April 25. The costs are heavy but it is not an unprofitable business. I think the prices are normal. The daily wages of workers are 1,150 lira. Since our family is large, we generally do not need such a thing. We plant and harvest with workers, but we harvest ourselves. We also do the watering, maintenance, and marketing ourselves. We have no problems with marketing. We harvest the product upon request, we do not push it to the market, the place is ready, the customer is waiting for us. Due to the weather conditions, the yield is very good. Last year, we couldn’t achieve much due to weather conditions. Marketing is better this year compared to last year. There was no such price last year, it was worse. We have costs but it is not an insurmountable cost. Melons are a profitable crop. It cannot be compared to watermelon. You harvest watermelon once, but you can harvest melons 7-8 times. Bafra melons are delicious due to the fertile soil. Compared to melons from outside, Bafra melons are both more durable and sweeter. We have been in this business for years. If there is no sale, no marketing, production will not happen. No one buys unwanted products. We sell products that are liked. We continue to carry the name of our Bafra.’