This Country Produces Most Of The World's Watermelon
As you take a bite into that juicy slice of watermelon and admire its perfectly red hue, it night not even cross your mind how it got from the farm to your plate. Watermelons peak during the summer, so this hydrating fruit is most abundant during the warmer months, which explains its association with the season. But where did it come from?
China is, by far, the world's greatest watermelon producer. Each year, more than 60 million tons of watermelon from this Asian country are grown according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with many shipped worldwide for people to enjoy on a warm, sunny day. According to the National Watermelon Promotion Board, watermelon plants only produce up to three fruits per season, and they grow on the ground on thick vines that are then cut when the watermelon is ripe and ready to be picked. Smaller watermelons take a minimum of 70 days to grow and ripen, but those larger ones you usually see on grocery store shelves can take up to 90 days.
China exports its watermelon globally
With so much watermelon production, China's watermelons can be found pretty much anywhere in the world. The country exports the most watermelon to Vietnam, with nearly $70 million worth of the fruit exported there annually according to the World Bank. Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand are other major places where China's watermelon is sold.
No other country compares to China when it comes to production, but there are a few places that are also known for growing watermelons. Turkey produces around 3.5 million tons of watermelon each year, taking the second-place spot (but nowhere near China's numbers). India is next with 2.8 million, then Iran with 2.7 million, and finally Algeria with 2.3 million. While Mexico doesn't crack the top 10 for watermelon production, it happens to be the place where the United States sources from most. Mexico produces around 1.2 million tons of watermelon each year (via Blue Book Services). For context, although the weight of a watermelon can vary greatly depending on the variety, if each was an average of 20 pounds, that translates to around 120 million watermelons grown in Mexico each year.
The United States doesn't get watermelon from China
Interestingly, the United States doesn't get most of its watermelon from China. Rather it harvests much of its own fruit, which can be grown throughout the country during the warmer months. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Florida grows the most of any U.S. state, and Georgia, California, and Texas round out the top watermelon-producing places in the nation. In 2019, the United States produced more than 3 billion pounds of the fruit and supplemented another roughly 2 billion pounds from other countries to account for the more than 5 billion pounds eaten by Americans each year.
The watermelons the United States imports usually come from Central America. Around 80% of the watermelons imported Stateside are brought in from Mexico, but other countries like Costa Rica and Guatemala supply the United States with the red-and-green fruit, too. Red watermelons are by far the most common in U.S. stores, though you might be able to hunt down the occasional yellow watermelon from a grocery store like Trader Joe's or a specialty produce market.