Unplanned planting area hits watermelon

DUYGU ERDOĞAN / ISTANBUL - Watermelon, whose price has fallen to 2 liras among farmers, is ringing alarm bells in the field. Some producers who lose money from cultivated areas are leaving watermelons unpicked. In Çukurova, which meets more than 25 percent of Turkey's watermelon needs, unplanned production this year has been reflected as a loss to producers in many vegetables and fruits. Consumers, on the other hand, can reach the product with the price increase experienced by watermelons until they reach big cities, despite the relatively falling prices.
This summer, neither the producer nor the consumer could find what they expected from summer fruits. While frost and cold weather in April damaged various fruits, some were hit by unplanned production. Watermelon and melon, which were planted in Çukurova in large quantities, were left in the hands of farmers when they gave good yields.
'There is no demand to consume'
Yüreğir Chamber of Agriculture President Mehmet Akın Doğan stated that it was thought that watermelon would be sold more due to the scarcity of other fruits, especially due to the agricultural frost experienced in April. Doğan, who explained that there was a 20 percent increase in production for this reason, said, “As such, it was a problem entirely due to production. There was no demand to consume. Last year, a lot of product was sent abroad due to the European Cup. The product was valuable. In other words, we think that we are implementing a production plan as a country, but nothing is concretely reflected on us. There are those who make plans without seeing the field, if they left this job entirely to the farmer, the problem would be solved faster.”
Fruits and vegetables were planted
Emphasizing that farmers put in a lot of effort in planting wheat, corn, sunflower, soybean and cotton, which are strategic products of Türkiye, but when they do not get the reward, they turn to planting different products, Doğan said, “Farmers who constantly experience problems in these areas are now turning to planting vegetables and fruits, which are a bit easier. They plant products in their gardens that are not even in the Farmer Registration System. Thus, the products that are not registered are also increasing. Now wait, the same thing will happen with products such as tomatoes, onions and peppers. Farmers will not be able to earn a single lira. These products are also becoming a problem.”
7 times difference from field to counter
According to the data of the Union of Chambers of Agriculture of Turkey (TZOB), the highest price difference between the producer and the market was seen in watermelon in June, at 600 percent. Watermelon is sold with a 7-fold price difference. Watermelon, which is 2 liras at the producer, goes up to 14 liras at the market. There are also markets where the price is between 10-12 liras. The product with the biggest price decrease in the market was watermelon, again at 67.5 percent. It was evaluated that the increase in watermelon cultivation areas and supply, as well as the low demand, caused prices to hover around 2 liras, especially in Adana, Antalya and Mersin.
Conflict environment causes fertilizer prices to skyrocket
Şemsi Bayraktar, Chairman of the Union of Turkish Chambers of Agriculture (TZOB), stated in his assessment of June that the conflict between Iran and Israel caused a rapid increase in fertilizer prices. Bayraktar said, “The countries in the region where the war took place are the world’s leading countries in fertilizer production. Restrictions on shipping routes have increased prices in countries that procure fertilizer or fertilizer raw materials from those countries. The fertilizer market in Türkiye has also been negatively affected by this situation. The price of UREA fertilizer, which was 19,635 liras a month ago, increased by 38.5 percent to 27,192 liras. Again, compared to last May, the price of DAP fertilizer increased by 12.9 percent to 30,521 liras. The price of 20.20.0 compound fertilizer increased by 10.7 percent to 19,198 liras, the price of Ammonium Sulphate fertilizer increased by 6 percent to 11,768 liras, and the price of Ammonium Nitrate fertilizer increased by 3.1 percent to 13,294 liras.”
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