With summer comes the joy of indulging in some of the most delicious seasonal fruits. As Chennai enters its hottest period of the year, the demand for watermelons has increased tremendously. But mangoes, the king of fruits, will be here only next month.
Every day, Chennaites consume around 300,000 kg of watermelons. “We source them from places like Palmner, Kolar and Bangerpetta in Karnataka and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. Also, locally we get these fruits from places like Puducherry, Villupuram, Tindivanam and Marakanam,” says Soundarajan, a wholesale vendor at Koyembedu. Each load costs anywhere between Rs 8000 and 11,000 depending on where it comes from. All the fruits are centrally collected at the Koyembedu market and then distributed through 90 agents in the city.
The current retail price of watermelon is between Rs 8 and Rs 10 per kg. The agents buy it from us for Rs 4 to Rs 5 from us. Farmers who grow the fruits get Rs 2 per kilo,” says Soundarajan. An average watermelon weighs two to three kilos.
Nature couldn’t have timed the arrival of this fruit better. Unlike mangoes, which are not considered cool’ by traditional wisdom, watermelons are perfect summer fruits. They are high in water content and replace salts that are lost due to sweating. “We lose a lot electrolytes like Potassium and Sodium in summer due to excessive sweating. Watermelons are rich in these electrolytes,” says Bhuvaneshwari Shankar, chief dietician at Apollo Hospitals. Their high water content also prevent dehydration, dry skin and headache.
More News: timesofindia
