At the beginning of Ramadan, the season of watermelon starts. Due to its sweetness and juiciness, the demand for this fruit increases during Iftar. Taking advantage of this, sellers hike up the prices. Instead of selling by the piece, watermelons are sold at a rate of 80-100 taka per kilogram. The price of one watermelon, weighing between seven to eight kilograms, ranges from 700-800 taka. Therefore, people have taken to social media to express their concerns about the high prices of watermelons.

Moreover, there has been a significant increase in the supply of watermelons in the market. Alongside this, due to campaigns by consumer rights organizations and initiatives like ‘Selling Watermelon at Farmer’s Price’ by the Bangladesh Agro Farmers Association, the prices of watermelons have decreased by half within a few days. However, despite the decrease in prices, there are still no buyers, which is causing distress to the sellers.

Furthermore, the supply of watermelons to Dhaka’s markets has increased from various regions of the country. As a result, the price has dropped further. On Friday, it was observed in markets like Kawran Bazar, Rampura, and Malibagh that good-quality watermelons were being sold at 45-50 taka per kilogram. However, these same watermelons were seen being sold from vans or on footpaths at 40 taka per kilogram. These watermelons were previously sold for 80-100 taka per kilogram.

At Rampura Bazar, a seller named Arif stated that the decision of the wholesalers has led to a decrease in the price of watermelons. He mentioned that he hasn’t sold any watermelons for the past seven days as a form of protest. He stated that he would not sell a watermelon for 800-900 taka, as it is not a mango. Everyone is collectively boycotting the purchase of watermelons due to the high prices. If they don’t buy within a few days, the price will drop to 30-40 taka per kilogram.

Arif further explained that on the first day of Ramadan, he went to the market to buy watermelons for his family. The sellers want to sell their produce by the kilogram, not by the piece. He mentioned that he was selling one kilogram of watermelon for 100 taka and asked for 800 taka for one watermelon weighing eight kilograms. However, due to the high price, he had to return home empty-handed. Now, sellers are taking watermelons home if they don’t find buyers. If they don’t want them to spoil, they’re discarding them.

Sellers say that the supply of watermelons has increased, but there are no buyers. At the beginning of Ramadan, people used to buy by weight, so I sold them by weight. Now, I’m selling by kilogram or piece. Additionally, the supply of watermelons in the market has increased. However, there are no buyers. Sellers also mentioned that there might be some sales due to Ramadan, but it won’t last long after Eid.