Several farmers and melon sellers in Samangan province are complaining about the stagnation of this product’s market in 2026. They say that despite an increase in melon yields, decreasing demand and falling prices have made it impossible for them to sell their products at a reasonable price. According to them, the drop in melon prices has caused the income from selling this product to fail to even cover the costs of cultivation, harvesting, and transportation. These farmers add that the lack of standard cold storage facilities has further worsened their problem, as they are forced to bring their yields to market at low prices before they spoil. In an interview with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, they say that the continuation of this situation has caused them heavy economic losses. These farmers and sellers are calling on the Taliban to prevent further losses by building standard cold storage facilities, providing domestic markets, and expanding export opportunities.
“It’s an auction, it’s a steal, melon tender as a reed leaf, melon of Prophet Solomon; come and take it away without asking!” This is just one of hundreds of voices that daily draw the attention of passersby in the melon sellers’ market in Samangan. By calling out such phrases, farmers and sellers try to find customers and sell the yields they have worked hard to grow for months.
Agha Reza (pseudonym) is one of these farmers who, among dozens of other sellers in the Samangan market, has spread out his melons for sale. While loudly calling out to customers, he complains about the market stagnation and the drop in profit from selling this product.
This farmer says: “We don’t even make 20 afghanis of profit on these melons, even though it is melon season. We sit from morning until evening, and maybe only 10 Afghanis of profit remain. When there’s no profit of 50 Afghanis per seer of melon, nothing is gained. Even if that 10 Afghanis of profit doesn’t reach us, because we have transported the melons at a high cost. We sell a seer for 50 Afghanis, but God is our witness that we still lose money. Look, my melons are still here for tomorrow, and not all of them have been sold.”
Agha Reza adds that the closure of some transport routes has also affected the market for this product. He says, “If the Salang Pass were open, trucks could transport the melons to other areas, including Jalalabad, but now our market has become limited.”
Shamsullah (pseudonym), another melon seller, also complains about the lack of a suitable market for selling his products. He says that if part of these products did not find their way to foreign markets such as Iran and Kazakhstan, melon prices would have dropped even further.
This seller says, “We buy melons from landowners, but believe me, there isn’t much profit in it. It’s still good that these products go to Kazakhstan and Iran; otherwise, the price would have dropped further. We once sent products to these countries and made a profit there, but domestically, we only get by on selling them. Most of the time,e we sell these products at a loss because people cannot afford to buy them. We buy expensive and are forced to sell cheap.”
Sediq, another melon seller, says that due to the lack of a suitable market, even selling a seer of melon for 50 afghanis has become difficult for them. He adds that decreasing demand and limited sales markets have caused many sellers to offer their products at a loss.
Sediq calls on the Taliban to provide domestic and foreign markets for agricultural products, especially melons, and to expand export opportunities for these products. He says, “The roads are closed, and the products cannot be transported outside. This year, there was heavy rainfall, and hail and flooding damaged part of the melon crop. A while ago, prices were very low; now they have improved slightly, because the amount of melon coming to market has decreased.”
Meanwhile, several economic experts say that the lack of planning in the cultivation sector, weak marketing, a shortage of standard cold storage facilities, and the simultaneous supply of agricultural products to the market are among the main factors behind the drop in melon prices and the losses suffered by farmers.
Eid ul Nasir Reshtia, an economic affairs expert, says that one of the fundamental problems in Afghanistan’s agricultural sector is the lack of coordination between producers and the market. He emphasizes that the Taliban’s Ministry of Agriculture should coordinate with farmers and determine how much melon the domestic market needs and how much of this product should be produced for export.
Reshtia adds: “In Afghanistan, usually when a product is profitable, everyone turns to producing that same product; but cultivation should be based on market needs and a clear plan. If we proceed without a plan, farmers will suffer greater losses.” He also emphasizes that the Taliban should work to market domestic products and find foreign markets, because increasing production without access to a suitable market leads to falling prices and losses for producers.
Melon is one of the important agricultural products in several Afghanistan’s provinces, including Samangan, and every year during the harvest season, a large number of farmers in this province engage in producing and selling it. However, the lack of an organized plan for regulating cultivation, the shortage of standard cold storage facilities, limited sales markets, and difficulties in transporting products are cited as major challenges facing farmers.
Farmers say that in years when production increases, the lack of market absorption capacity causes prices to drop sharply, forcing them to sell their products at low prices.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
