Each kilo of watermelon is currently sold at just VND1,000-2,000 (USD0.04-0.08). Many households in Chu Prong District have even abandoned their watermelons in the fields or used the fruit as cattle feed.
Chu Prong District has 300 hectares of watermelon, leading to local farmers selling the fruit at fire-sale prices.
Watermelons are piled up in heaps, waiting for traders to buy.
Many watermelons, including those weighing more than 4 kilos, have become rotten in fields because they are unsellable.
Each hectare of watermelon costs an investment of around VND170 million (USD 6,706).
Doan Ngoc Co, deputy director of the Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said people should plant watermelons in eastern districts such as Krong Pa and Ayun Pa. However, many have still grown them in Chu Prong District, where unfavourable weather and land conditions have affected the fruit quality.
Co blamed the lower watermelon prices on a fall in demand in China, while the cold weather in many localities nationwide has led to lower domestic demand.
