Recently, a blogger posted a video claiming that watermelons from Guanshui County, Guangxi Province, were not selling and were being thrown into fish ponds to feed the fish or left to rot in the fields. The video sparked discussions online and quickly became a hot topic trending on social media.
According to the blogger’s video posted on May 29th, Shanzhou Town in Fusuixian County, Chongzuo City, Guangxi, is known as the “hometown of southern watermelons”, producing watermelons known nationwide for their high sweetness and large yields. However, this year, due to “unsalable” conditions and low purchase prices, the watermelons here could not be sold and were either thrown into fish ponds to feed the fish or left to rot in the fields. “The watermelon farmers not only worked in vain this season but also faced losses of tens of thousands of yuan.”
The video showed watermelon farmers dumping a truckload of watermelons into a fish pond, causing half of the pond to be filled with watermelons.
On May 30th, Mr. Huang, a watermelon farmer in Shanzhou Town, told the Xīn Jīngbào (New Beijing News) that this year’s purchase price for watermelons was only 20 cents per catty, much lower than in previous years. He estimated a loss of around 40 to 50 thousand yuan, with 100,000 catties of watermelons in the fields left to be abandoned.
Mr. Huang said that it costs 1,500 yuan to invest in planting an acre of watermelon, but only earns five to six hundred yuan when sold. “When the watermelon ripens and you don’t sell it, it becomes outdated. It’s better to throw it away at such a cheap price. Even if you sell it out, you won’t recover the labor cost.”
In response, a watermelon buyer stated that the purchase price was indeed low, possibly due to reduced market demand caused by rainfall. The staff at the Economic Crop Station in Fusui County said that the unsold watermelons were mainly late-season melons, with oversaturation in the market leading to unsold produce and lower prices.
However, comments left by netizens from Guangdong, Guangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang, and other places in the video section indicated that it was not a decrease in market demand, but rather that watermelon prices were too high to afford. “20 cents per catty? I’ve never seen anything below 1.5 yuan in Beijing.” “Watermelons in Guangzhou cost five to six yuan per catty.” “Fruit shops in Changzhou, Jiangsu, priced at 5.6 yuan per catty.” “Even the ordinary ones here are over 3 yuan per catty. The purchase price of 20 cents won’t even cover the costs.” “Normally, watermelons cost at least three to four yuan. This price difference is outrageous.” “The cheapest I’ve seen at a roadside stall is 1.98, while in stores they sell for 2.98 and premium ones for 4.98.”
A netizen from Guangdong questioned, “We haven’t seen many watermelons here yet. Does this mean they are unsold?” “Isn’t it just the beginning of summer? It’s not even June yet, and watermelons are just starting to be eaten. Now they have to be thrown away?”
Some netizens questioned, “Farmers can’t sell their produce, and we can’t afford to buy them. Where did it go wrong in the supply chain?” “Who is benefiting from this price difference?”