Why during Ramzan, watermelons sell like hot cakes in Kashmir

The sale of watermelon during Ramzan increases by 50 per cent compared to the rest of the year.

Watermelon has become a favourite Ramzan fruit for the people in Kashmir and, every day, huge imports of the hydrating fruit reach the Valley from different states. For the past five years, massive watermelon consumption during the holy month of Ramzan has pushed other fruits to the edge.

Bashir Ahmad Bashir, president of Fruit and Vegetable Association Kashmir, tells Moneycontrol that, every year, “the sale of watermelon during Ramzan increases by 50 per cent compared to the rest of the year. People in Kashmir love this fruit more than other states of the country.”

While quoting figures, Bashir says, despite the cold weather in Kashmir this year, the good sale of watermelon continues. “Every day more than 25 trucks loaded with 11 tonnes of watermelon, worth around Rs 1 crore, reach Kashmir on a daily basis. The sales of the fruit will grow in the coming days once the temperature rises. Currently, the produce is being brought from various Indian states — Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat.”

This year when watermelons arrived in Kashmir before the expected season, some people raised doubts about the melons being chemically injected and refrained from purchasing the fruit.

However, Bashir says, because of cold stores and advanced technology all the fruits are available in the markets throughout the year. “It is not possible to chemically inject watermelons in such a huge quantity. Due to advancement, the watermelons can now be available in the Valley even during Chillai Kalan, the 40-day period of harsh winter in Kashmir.”

Despite the supplies getting hit by the closure of Srinagar-Jammu national highway intermittently, dozens of trucks of watermelons have arrived in Kashmir daily since the beginning of Ramzan.

In the previous year, during Ramzan, the people in the region, on a daily basis, consumed watermelons worth Rs 5 crore, breaking all records in the fruit sale.

“Even though this year it has been cold due to regular rains during Ramzan, consumption of watermelons has not declined,” says Bashir.

An iftaar, the meal to break the fast at sunset, that includes dates, water, milk, basil seed drink (babri treash), is incomplete without the refreshing watermelon, every bite of which contains 92 per cent water and 6 per cent sugar and helps to quench thirst. It can be had as slices, with salt and lemon sprinkled over it, or chipped and mixed in Rooh Afza drinks.

The business pays dividends. Mohammad Omar, a fruit vendor in Srinagar’s Hyderpora area, says, on the first day of Ramzan this year, he loaded his “auto with the fruit, and within hours, managed to sell them all for Rs 10,000.”

The sale of watermelons not only surges in Srinagar city during the month but also in towns and villages. For example, a fruit retailer Abdul Hameed Kumar in south Kashmir’s Tral, 40 km from Srinagar, says, in the months preceding Ramzan, he would only sell 10-15 kg of watermelon compared to 40-60 kg a day during the religious month.

The wholesale rate of watermelon in Kashmir is Rs 20 per kg and is sold in retail for around Rs 33 per kg. “In the coming days, you will see the prices will also fall because, currently, the fruit comes from far-off states. Once the large produce from neighbouring Punjab and Rajasthan arrives here, the prices will go down, ” says Bashir.

Regarding the health benefits of watermelon, Altaf Hussain Shah, senior medical officer, Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH), says, since watermelon is rich in water, therefore, after fasting, the fruit helps in hydration.

“Watermelon is also a fat-free and sodium-free, nutrient-dense fruit, containing high levels of vitamin A, C, lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, citrulline, having cardiovascular benefits, and the magnesium in watermelon helps keep the heartbeat steady. Arginine in watermelon is important for vital organs — lungs, kidneys and liver. Arginine also facilitates the healing of wounds,” says Shah, who is posted in the Pulwama district hospital.