Watermelon exports from Myanmar to China are struggling to gain market share due to the conditions of transport routes, according to fruit depots.

Myanmar has been facing various difficulties in exporting watermelon since 2019 COVID-19, and its popularity has been affected because of low quality when it arrives in the market.

“The Chinese side used to prefer Myanmar’s fruit, which blooms on good soil and water without much fertilizer. But the problem lies in the transport route. Since 2019, due to COVID-19 and the current situation after COVID-19, the roads have been blocked, causing traffic jams and stale fruits.

No matter how good it was, the fruit had no quality. So, it became less popular,” said a salesperson from the Khwanyo Fruit Depot.

If the road situation improves and bilateral cooperation can be restored with full support, the fruit market, including watermelons, could recover, he added.

Therefore, watermelon exporters should be very cautious by closely monitoring the demand, the wholesaler said.
“Chinese buyers have suffered huge losses due to many rotten watermelons they bought earlier. So, they are reluctant to repurchase watermelons. At that time, when they saw defects in some fruits, the demand went from bad to worse,” he said.