Watermelon harvest has started in Çukurova, where Türkiye’s most fertile agricultural lands are located. In the city, which meets approximately 25 percent of the country’s watermelon needs, there is intense harvest work in the fields. Watermelons loaded onto trucks started to be sent all over Türkiye. It was stated that harvest expectations were high in the harvest, which started in Kapı District of Karataş district on the seaside of the city. It was noted that 800 thousand tons of yield is expected to be obtained this season from the production carried out on an area of approximately 125 thousand decares. Adana Agriculture Platform Spokesperson Cahit İncefikir stated that the price of a kilo of watermelon in the field is 25 TL and that prices may fluctuate depending on the supply.
‘LATE PLANTING STARTED BUT EARLY HARVEST WAS DONE’
Stating that the watermelon harvest has not yet started on a large scale in the plains, Cahit İncefikir said, “Watermelon harvest has started in places. Harvesting has not started in a certain area as thought. However, ripe watermelon harvest has started in a narrow area. Watermelon planting started late due to floods and hail disasters in the winter months. Especially with the rains, farmers planted watermelon late. There were those who were able to harvest watermelon early. The first phase of the harvest started periodically. “We can say that watermelon starts with a price of 25 TL in the field, prices are determined fluctuatingly like the stock market, depending on the supply and demand balance, the product being offered to the markets, the price being released to the stalls, and the prices may fluctuate depending on the increase or decrease in the harvest in the coming days,” he said.
‘HARVEST WHEN THE PRODUCTS REACH A CERTAIN MATURITY’
İncefikir, who warned producers and consumers about watermelons, said, “What we must emphasize is that the watermelon must reach a certain maturity. The sugar content must increase, it must have acquired its color and it must have reached a consistency. If it is collected raw and delivered to the consumer, it will discourage people from buying it. It is at the expense of the producer and consumption decreases. If there are watermelons that have been planted early, have reached the harvest period and have reached sufficient maturity, they can be harvested if they are the products that were planted before the rains we mentioned. However, what is this?” “We do not know exactly how much area there is. We do not estimate that it is a very large area. If the watermelon has reached a certain maturity, aroma and taste ratio, it can be collected,” he said.
