The prices of “dallah” (red watermelon) have dropped to record levels, in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region, as the price per kilogram of this product ranged between 40 and 50 centimes during the weekly market of Sabt Awlad El-Nema, which is one of the largest national markets. ; This exacerbated the situation for many farmers and sellers alike.
Abd al-Latif al-Samouzi, one of the farmers growing red watermelon on the outskirts of the Beni Mellal region, attributed in a statement to Hespress newspaper, the drop in prices to low levels below the cost price to the abundance of agricultural produce during this agricultural season in quantities that exceed demand.
Al-Samouzi suggested that “the availability of abundant production in this particular circumstance is due to the continued arrival of the Zagora Dallah to the local markets, in addition to the local product; What resulted in this situation, which may be an inevitable result of the lack of communication between the farmer and the guidance and counseling institutions.
The farmer himself indicated that the situation is very worrying; Because “everyone was betting on this product in order to improve the marketing field that was affected by the Corona measures, and also in order to pay off the irrigation debts and the costs of “fry”, fertilizers, and especially the medicines that accompany this type of agriculture until the moment of marketing.
Al-Samouzi explained that the danger of this type of summer fruit lies in the fact that it does not accept delay. Pointing out that he is one of the farmers who succeeded in marketing 4 hectares at a low price that is not equal to the price of seed, while he is now unaware of the fate of another 7 hectares.
The spokesman denied that the low price of the watermelon is due to what some people claim to be infected with some diseases, saying that “the reproduction of rumors about the quality and safety of the red watermelon fruit, in parallel with the beginning of its marketing, has become commonplace,” stressing that “the product is fully consistent with Health safety standards for food products, and that UNSA analyzes have previously proven that it is free of contaminants, whether pesticide residues or bacteria.
Al-Samouzi stressed that despite the farmers incurring heavy losses in this regard, the responsible authorities did not intervene, at least to listen to those affected, assess the losses, and consider whether there are some solutions to mitigate the burdens of losses on the future of this product in the region.
For his part, Youssef Al-Omari, one of the professionals selling watermelon in the local markets in Al-Faqih bin Saleh, revealed that this decline in the price of watermelon had not happened before, indicating that prices were sometimes affected by the abundance of supply compared to demand. However, that was no more than a week or two.
Al-Omari confirmed that everyone interested in the sector realizes that the price of the oiler today cannot cover the costs of its cultivation, not to mention the costs of transporting it to the markets. This explains some of the responses that took place in the weekly market, where farmers were forced to leave their produce and leave the market as an expression of their discontent with its low price.
The same spokesman said that marketing about two tons of watermelon in installments, in light of this abundant offer, requires sellers more than 70 hours; This increases the cost of expenses and causes a decrease in the price of the product, whose quality among customers is linked to the period of one pound from agricultural waste.
Farmers, in identical statements to Hespress, called on the responsible authorities to intervene in order to control the market, and to restore consideration to this product, which a large segment of the region is betting on to improve its income after months of stopping work due to the “Corona”.