Agri Business

Watermelon Sellers at Agomanya Market Record Low Sales despite Glut

Watermelon sellers at the Agomanya Market in the Eastern region say they are making losses in their businesses despite a bumper harvest of the commodity.

The women say the produce is rotting away on the market and in farms as owners desperately wait for buyers.

According to them, though it is a harvesting season, they are left counting losses instead of smiling all the way to the bank.

We don’t know what to do with the produce that we have travelled long distances to bring to the market, the affected market women lamented.

A couple of the desperate women who spoke with Rite news say they are losing massive capital invested in the trade in the face of inadequate market for the produce.

One of the affected women, Madam Favour who sells the produce close to the market lamented about the poor sales she is recording despite travelling all the way to Ada in the Greater Accra region which is a major watermelon producing hub, to buy the produce.

“Buyers are limited on the market and most of those who purchase it for consumption do not buy in bulk but only about one or two,” she complained.

She attributed the glut to this season’s bumper harvest where farmers harvested bountifully because the fruits grow better during the dry season.

Previously it wasn’t so but the bumper harvest is causing this harm, she said.

Heaps of watermelon are found by the road side to attract commuters using the roads but because the patronage is low, the fruits, after some weeks begin perishing.

According to experts, watermelon belongs to the protective food groups, it contains a lot of fiber and water which allows free bowels and help improve the human immunity against diseases.

It is also good for diabetics and is widely believed to have properties that prevent prostate cancer in men.

Watermelons naturally have a shelf life of three weeks when stored well, however it is highly perishable and when rotting, it could not be detected outside but rot from within.

Source: Rita Nkansah/www.ritefmonline.org/rnkansah12@gmail.com

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