Monitored data from the agricultural district demonstrate that between January and July watermelons all over the country have seen their prices drop. In January and February, the price for watermelons was at its highest at 1.43 EUR/kilo, which was the highest monthly price since 2015. Afterwards things went downhill. Since the latter half of June, watermelon prices all over the country have dropped rapidly: from 0.77 EUR/kilo halfway June to 0.46 EUR/kilo in July. The average price in July was 12.3% down on last year.
The majority of watermelons hit the market in July and August every year at earliest. During this time, watermelons grown in storehouses and watermelons grown in open air are harvested simultaneously, so the watermelon output reaches its peak value. Also the imbalance between supply and demand has partially caused the price drop for watermelons this year. On the supply level, watermelons grown in open air have somewhat increased, but the demand has shrunk. One reason is that the earnings from last year's field watermelons was generally rather high, which induced enthusiasm in many farmer households and caused a substantially larger number of watermelon plantations this year.
Another reason is that, against the background of the price depression for traditional crops, the management and growing of watermelons is simple. Because costs can be regained through harvest within the same season, many farmers favour watermelons, so the area used for growing watermelons has risen considerably.