Five tonnes of watermelon destroyed for not meeting local standards

AMMAN — The Ministry of Agriculture has destroyed five tonnes of watermelon in the central market for not meeting local standards, a government official said Tuesday.

The watermelons were withdrawn from the central market this week because they were white from the inside and not ripe, according to Agriculture Ministry Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin.

“Farmers are not giving watermelons enough time to ripen; therefore, some people are complaining that the fruit is white from the inside and are worried that they were injected with hormones, but this is not the case; they were simply picked too early,” Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

He urged farmers to make sure that watermelons are ripe before picking them, noting that supplying the market with unripe watermelons “damages the reputation of the crop”.

Jordan exports watermelons daily to Iraq, Gulf countries and Lebanon, according to the ministry.

“A total of 2,800 dunums in Ghor Al Safi in the Jordan Valley are planted annually with watermelons. Each dunum produces five tonnes. Its season in Ghor Al Safi ends later this month,” Haddadin noted.

A total of 3,400 dunums of land are planted annually with melons, and each dunum produces four tonnes, he said.

Farmers and traders have started erecting tents for selling melons in different locations around the capital. 

The Greater Amman Municipality issues licences to farmers and traders for erecting tents based on the location and provided that they only sell melons and watermelons, according to a GAM statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

GAM allows the sale of melons in tents between April 1st and October 30th, the statement said, adding that licence issuance for erecting tents takes traffic safety and the environment into consideration.

The municipality said it will remove unlicensed tents or those that fail to adhere to instructions without giving their owners any prior warning.