Watermelon prices set to soar due to troubled imports
New Zealand only has twenty commercial melon growers and imports of the fruit are vital to meet demand over the summer months. Alas, biosecurity and logistical problems have put the brakes on shipments from key growing areas and prices are expected to be about 20 per cent higher this season.
All fresh cucurbit imports from Queensland were suspended last December due to the cucumber green mottle mosaic virus. The ban – which contributed to soaring prices for the fruit last summer, including a $46 melon found at a New World supermarket – remains in place.
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The ban – which contributed to soaring prices for the fruit last summer, including a $46 melon found at a New World supermarket – remains in place. The Ministry for Primary Industries gave temporary approval for imports from Tonga to resume – under strict conditions – earlier this month. However, the first shipment of 10 containers was cancelled after trucks organised by Tonga’s Ministry of Agriculture failed to collect the produce from farms,
RNZ reported. A Countdown spokeswoman said the supermarket chain has a limited supply of Northland watermelons which are currently available at $6 a kilogram in its North Island stores. In a good growing year, the average watermelon weighs three to five kilos but fruit that size may be hard to find this year.