AA. Thoddoo, an agriculture-centric island, will produce over 200 tons of watermelons for this year’s Ramadan, said the island’s council.
The island is locally famous for its watermelons. Meanwhile, the president of Thodoo island council Ahmed Karam said that there are 112 farms on the island growing a large variety of produce, while the majority of them are harvesting watermelons.
The island will reportedly produce between 5,000 to 8,000 kilograms of melons every day, Karam said. “About 2 million square feet are being utilized to grow watermelons. We’ll be making MVR 9 to 10 million, depending on the quantity we sell.”
The council president also said that the island’s farmers have already begun preparations for Ramadan early this year, while the farmers have focused on growing other vegetables as well.
The island is expected to produce 13,000 kilograms of papaya, 10,000 kilograms of cucumbers, and 2,000 kilograms of scotch bonnet chilis for Ramadan this year.
The price of watermelons in the local markets currently ranges from MVR 10 to 15 per kilo, but will likely shoot up during Ramadan owing to demand.
Karam further said that the availability of watermelons in the first week of Ramadan may be less compared to last year. The farmers faced challenges in harvesting their produce due to pests that appeared on the plots leased for agriculture.
Watermelon is considered the highest in-demand produce during Ramadan every year.