Henan Watermelon Farmers Plead for Help as 70 Tons Go Unsold

Two watermelon farming families in Xuchang, Henan Province, are urgently appealing for buyers as approximately 140,000 jin (70 tons) of ripe watermelons remain unsold at their fields, with farm-gate prices collapsing to just 0.2 yuan (roughly $0.03 USD) per jin. According to The Paper, the farmers have a sales window of only one week before rain and over-ripening cause the entire crop to rot.

A Race Against Time

The affected farmers — the brother and childhood friend of local truck driver Mr. Jin — planted roughly 40 mu (about 6.6 acres) of the “Shuanghong Jinchengwu” watermelon variety in Jin’ying Village, Jiangguanji Town, Jian’an District. With yields of 7,000 to 8,000 jin per mu, the harvest has been abundant. But that abundance has become a crisis.

At 95% ripeness and sugar content measuring 12.5–12.6 degrees Brix, the watermelons are at peak quality — yet that very ripeness makes them vulnerable. “If it rains a bit, the watermelons might burst open,” Mr. Jin told The Paper. The sales window, he warned, is at most one week.

Farmer Mr. Cao added that if the watermelons cannot be sold before August and the land cleared for tilling, they will miss the planting period for the next season’s crop. The production cost of roughly 1,060 yuan per mu means that selling at 0.2 yuan per jin barely recovers partial costs, let alone covers labor and inputs. “It’s a loss-making business,” Mr. Jin said.

A Province-Wide Crisis

The Xuchang farmers’ plight is part of a much larger crisis sweeping Henan, China’s largest watermelon-producing province. As China.com reported, Henan planted 3.7 million mu of watermelons in 2026 with an estimated output of 14 million tons — a planting area increase of over 22% driven by strong prices in previous seasons.

The resulting oversupply has driven farm-gate prices across the province down to 0.1–0.3 yuan per jin. Multiple factors converged to create the glut: expanded planting areas in Kaifeng and other major production regions, simultaneous harvests from neighboring Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, and an early rainy season that caused premature ripening and increased water content, reducing shelf life. Both greenhouse and open-field crops reached the market at the same time, flooding supply channels.

Self-Rescue and National Response

The Xuchang farmers have been trying to sell locally — through supermarket connections and roadside retail in Zhengzhou, where they transported one truckload of roughly 10,000 jin on July 22. But the high ripeness prevents long-distance shipping, limiting their market to Xuchang and surrounding areas.

Across Henan, a broad relief effort has mobilized. The provincial government, through agriculture and urban management departments, has set up over 1,000 temporary sales points and launched a “Watermelon Map” app to help consumers find locations. Scenic spots including Luoyang Chongdugou, Kaifeng Qingming Riverside Park, and Wanshou Mountain have purchased bulk watermelons for free distribution to tourists. Zhang Zhongjing Pharmacy sent 12 trucks to purchase 115,000 jin at premium prices, while Guoquan Shihui bought 100,000 jin for free distribution at 131 Zhengzhou stores.

Cross-province support has also emerged. The Henan diaspora in Guangzhou sold roughly 550,000 jin over 20 days, while a Hangzhou team led by entrepreneur Liu Jingwen sold 100 tons in just seven hours. In a high-profile gesture, Taiwanese singer Wu Kequan and Henan-born singer Lu Hu jointly purchased 250 tons of unsold watermelons at 0.3 yuan per jin — above market price — for free distribution to workers and communities in Zhengzhou, Xinxiang, Beijing, and Hangzhou.

Structural Questions Linger

While charitable efforts provide immediate relief, analysts point to deeper structural problems in Chinese agriculture that the crisis has exposed. As NetEase noted in its coverage, smallholder farmers often plant based on last year’s prices, creating boom-bust cycles. Weak market access, limited cold chain logistics, and minimal processing capacity for perishable crops like watermelon leave farmers extremely vulnerable to oversupply.

A commentary in Zhejiang Online captured the tension succinctly: “Charity support saves the present; market planning manages the long term.” The gap between farm-gate prices of 0.1–0.3 yuan per jin and retail prices exceeding 3.5 yuan per jin in cities like Shenzhen highlights the inefficiencies in China’s agricultural supply chain.

What to Watch For

With the one-week sales window ticking, the immediate question is whether the Xuchang farmers’ 140,000 jin will find buyers in time. The broader question — whether Henan and China can address the structural vulnerabilities that leave small farmers exposed to such crises — will determine whether next year brings a repeat of the same story.