Published: August 12, 2008 12:18 pm      

Watermelon price rises sharply in 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY — The price of watermelons is up in Oklahoma, but it has nothing to do with the so-called Viagra-effect.

Rising costs for fuel, fertilizer and other items are blamed for an increase in the price of Oklahoma watermelons of up to 50 percent.

At the 64th Rush Springs Watermelon Festival over the weekend, most melons were selling for between $6 and $7, about $2 higher than the previous year, said longtime festival official Dan Williams.

Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, said he saw the highest grade melons go for $12, when they were selling for about $7 last year.

"The input cost was a little more than it has been, so the price is a littler higher," Williams.

He doubted the cost spike had anything to do with a report by scientific researchers that an ingredient in watermelons caused an effect similar to Viagra, the drug used to alleviate sexual dysfunction in men.

"We tried to promote that as best we could and everyone (at the festival) was walking around with a smile on their face," Williams quipped. "I had a radio (station) in Bakersfield, Calif., call and they were teasing me pretty good about it."

Researchers at Texas A&M said the ingredient citrulline, found in the flesh and rind of the watermelon, relaxes blood vessels, producing an effect similar to Viagra.

"A lot of people have gotten a good laugh after the stories about the research," Dorman said.

While Rush Springs, along with towns in several other states, has been referred to as the "watermelon capital of the world," Dorman said melon farmers in the area have dwindled in recent years as field workers have become harder to find.

The passage of House Bill 1804, which seeks to crack down on illegal immigrants, "certainly made it tougher to find laborers," the lawmaker said.

Rush Springs, population about 1,600, is located about 60 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.

In Edmond, Arthur Webb, produce manager for Crest Foods, said he has heard of farmers abandoning watermelon growing because workers primarily from Mexico have been in short supply.

Webb said prices for Oklahoma-grown watermelons "are 40 percent to 50 percent higher this year."

He said he is selling watermelons for $5.99 that cost $2.99 to $3.99 a year ago and he has seen melon prices at other stores in the $8 range.

Some farmers, he said, are choosing to sell their melons themselves "and are getting $8 to $10 on the side of the road."

Others are selling them in the field and saving on the cost of transporting them to stores, Webb said.

Prices for out-of-state melons also are up, along with the prices for many other vegetables and fruit, especially apples, he said.