Hualien large watermelons hit by pandemic, farmers' association launches direct purchase to help farmers

The delicious large watermelons of eastern Taiwan have entered their production season, but this year the arrival of COVID-19 (commonly known as Wuhan pneumonia) has led people to eat out less, and restaurants' use of ingredients has dropped sharply. As high-quality Yuli watermelons are about to ripen, melon vendors are arriving late, with orders only about half the usual amount. The Yuxi Farmers' Association in Yuli Township, the largest watermelon production area in the country, has launched online pre-orders with home delivery to help watermelon farmers. A PhD from the Hualien District Agricultural Research and Extension Station conducted an on-site survey and said that this year there was no heavy rain, Hualien watermelons are of good quality, and Yuli watermelons are especially superb. The public is in for a treat!

The watermelon kingdom is in Hualien, and the pandemic has sharply reduced orders from the restaurant industry

According to statistics from the Council of Agriculture, the largest watermelon production area in the country is Hualien County. In the 107th year of the Republic of China, the national planting area was 10,602.61 hectares, with a production of 220,845 metric tons, mainly distributed in Fenglin Township, Shoufeng Township, and Yuli Township. Among them, the production areas in Fenglin and Shoufeng both exceed one thousand hectares, with annual production of nearly thirty thousand metric tons each. Yuli Township ranks fifth nationwide in watermelon production area, with a planting area of 358.15 hectares.

The watermelon variety planted in Fenglin, Shoufeng, and Yuli is "Huabao," and each one can grow to thirty jin, so it is also called large watermelon. Compared with Fenglin and Shoufeng, Yuli watermelons are planted farther south and mature and are harvested earlier. The first crop of melons is usually harvested starting in late April to early May each year, while Fenglin and Shoufeng start about two weeks later.

Cai Zonghan, director-general of the Yuxi Farmers' Association, said that about 2,200 watermelons can be harvested per hectare, and a rough estimate is that Yuli Township will have at least more than 66,000 watermelons this year, with harvesting expected to begin one after another in late April. In the past, 90% of watermelons were purchased by melon vendors. At present, about 60% of watermelons have orders, and the gap in sales is related to the pandemic. "Watermelons are usually sold to restaurants and hotels in western Taiwan, as after-meal fruit, salad, or juice. This pandemic has reduced restaurant business, which has also sharply reduced watermelon orders."

Cai Zonghan explained that most domestic watermelons are eaten fresh, and are rarely processed. After watermelons ripen, they must be harvested as soon as possible, because as the weather later gets hotter, watermelons left in the field will become overripe. Also, watermelons can be stored at room temperature for about one week, and the peak sales period is about two weeks. "Before the Yuli watermelon season, we encounter western Taiwan watermelons, and afterward we encounter Fenglin and Shoufeng watermelons. They must be sold as quickly as possible, otherwise watermelon prices will be disrupted."

Farmers: Western Taiwan watermelons are selling slowly, and melon vendors' orders are arriving late

The largest watermelon planting area in Yuli Township belongs to Luo Rongguang, head of the watermelon production and marketing group. A 25-hectare watermelon field with more than fifty thousand watermelons looks quite spectacular. Each huge watermelon lies quietly on the sandy ground. Luo Rongguang walked into the field to thin the fruit. On the day of the interview on the 22nd, a melon vendor had just finished inspecting the melons and placed an order with Luo Rongguang. "He ordered 20,000 melons, but in previous years he would have come two months earlier."

In the past, melon vendors usually came to the production area to inspect melons two months before harvest. Luo Rongguang said that due to the impact of the pandemic this year, melon vendors did not appear one after another until mid-April, and orders