Editor,

On the Tongan watermelon dilemma, your correspondent Sione Mokofisi of the US posed: Isn't there something wrong with this picture? Short supply of watermelons in NZ; high prices at the marketplace; but there is excess supply in Tonga ready to be shipped.

The answer is a resounding yes there is something wrong! It's inferred that given these conditions the grower should be able to export and get a return. But let's paint Sione's picture a little more and then assess the growers chances. To be more true to life we should add in the growers' costs and risks which will include labour, equipment hire, seeds, fertiliser, sprays, pesticides, harvesting labour, local transport, local storage, export compliancing and quarantine, packing, freight, landing and customs clearance and finally marketing/agency fees in New Zealand. Growers also take their chances with mother nature once the seeds are in the ground and if this is an insurable risk then that's another cost item as well.

As if that's not enough, the vagaries of the market are just as challenging.

The retail market for Tongan watermelon is probably best described as "niche" only. The NZ and Australia product outsells us because the species that we've traditionally grown, while fondly known in the retail trade for its freshness and sweet taste, there are drawbacks as well. Tongan consumers in NZ and other Pacific Islanders who know their melons do prefer this variety but it is a small price-conscious market who are often reluctant to meet the premium asked for our own products when available. The majority of New Zealanders on the other hand prefer their watermelons to be seedless - apparently children who drive the buying decision don't like the seeds and mum will opt for seedless rather than sweetness most of the time. So Australia and NZ both grow seedless varieties in response. So for Tongan growers to make the best out of a demanding situation, they need to conquer costs and mother nature, grow sweeter and fresher seedless watermelons than NZ and Australian varieties and shipped to arrive at the market on time and well before the Australian and NZ varieties are harvested. More importantly they should negotiate for a guarateed buyer and/or price as well. It's no small task.

When one considers the risks that our Tongan growers have to face, one asks how it is that Sione's grower friend is able to go as far as he did without securing a guaranteed buyer and/or a price in the first place! That is how most of this business is done now and for good reasons - to reduce the risks and help make it pay.

I wrote earlier that the issues facing our Tongan growers is for another time and space - but in a word, this is a high risk business and it is not for everyone. Not all Tongan growers can successfully run an export business let alone a high-risk one like this. Most can grow but that doesn't necessarily mean they can make it pay or profitable. We do have a fledgling but growing agricultural export sector and there is a market for some of our products but making it pay requires business acumen, support and expert help. Just growing and hoping is likely to end in disappointment - and pointing the finger incorrectly isn't going to help either.

Hope this helps.

Sefita Hao'uli