Sweltering heat pushes demand for watermelons

CEBU, Philippines - Demand for watermelons has gone up by 80 percent these days, compared to the previous months, amid the sweltering heat brought about by the lingering dry spell that has dried up most of Cebu’s water wells and reservoirs.

Reina San Gabriel, 50, owner of Crens Jhon’s, which supplies around 2,000 kilos of watermelons everyday in various malls in the Cebu, said they source their watermelons from a farm in Iloilo City.

She said they usually order 15 tons but lately they are only getting 13 tons of watermelons as harvest has also gone down due to the El Niño. For every 45 pieces of the fruit, they pay at least P2,000 but that still excludes other expenses such as transportation.

She however said that despite the increase in demand, they decided not to increase their prices. For every kilo of watermelon sold for P16, they only earn P2 from it.

"Wala mi mag-increase basta ang importante kay kusog. Bahala og gamay lang imong ginansya,  kaysa mo-increase ka unya imong mga customers and mga suki kay wala na." she said.

Esmeralda Asis, 47, a watermelon vendor down the street of Magallanes, Cebu City, says that "arang-arang karon kay makahipos man kog taglibo kada adlaw."

In the previous months, Asis can only sell two watermelons a day. Today, she displays 10 watermelons and it can be easily sold before the end of the day.

Marife Gabato, 47, who orders 300 kilos of watermelons every three days from Iloilo, has a daily income of not less than P3,000.

Gabato, however said that her supplier has increased the prices of watermelon from P17 per kilo before to P20 per kilo these days.

On the other hand, another watermelon vendor is not doing as well as the others, saying he only earns P500 a day, which is lower than what he usually earned during school days. — (FREEMAN)