SWEET FRUIT:  The watermelons that have arrived at the Vellore market, ahead of the season | Express

Markets in Vellore are flooded with mouth-watering watermelons that have arrived early this year. And, for a change, it is melons grown in the State that are widely available. In the past, these markets used to be monopolised by fruits transported from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. However, the increase in transport costs due to hike in the diesel price has been credited for this unusual development.

“State-grown melons are in demand because of the increase in transport cost that has gone up by about 20 per cent this year,” noted T Basheer Ahmed, a wholesale merchant at the fruit market in Mullipalayam here. The Fort city used to receive melons from the Kadappa belt in Andhra Pradesh, known for its widespread cultivation. This year, the farmers of neighbouring districts of Kancheepuram, Villupuram and Tiruvannamalai have taken the lead to exploit a favourable market climate.

Melons which used to hit the market in the second week of March have arrived a month early, even as Vellore gets ready to face another scorching season. “The farmers of northern districts have timed the cultivation and harvest well so that they could take advantage of the summer months ahead,” Basheer added. The price of the fruit purchased by the wholesale merchants is also very competitive this year, ranging between `7 to `9 per kg. Retail vendors on the pavement sell the fruit in the range of `12 and `15 per kg.

Basheer said Vellore receives around 100 to 150 tonnes of the fruit every day and fruit merchants are able to sell them almost immediately. The ‘namdhari’ variety is selling like hot cakes, Basheer said. He expects the watermelon season to last up to April, after which mangoes would take over.

Rahmathullah, a pavement vendor said the shelf life of the fruits grown by TN farmers was good as compared those transported from AP. While he procures the fruits mainly from the wholesale market here, sometimes he purchases them directly from the farmers at a lesser price. He, however, makes maximum profit by selling watermelons after they have been cut, as compared to the whole fruit that fetches him a smaller profit margin.While people enjoy the fruit in its raw form, some say they earn profits by selling novel items like watermelon payasam, soup, fruit salad, and melon juice. The fruit not only quenches thirst, it has vitamins, and minerals like potassium and magnesium. It helps cure irritability, sleep disorders, and muscular cramping, they added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by V. NarayanaMurthi – Vellore / February 26th, 2013