Dongtai Watermelon

Dongtai Watermelon

Dongtai Watermelon is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Watermelons specifically grown within the territory of Dongtai City, Jiangsu Province, are called “Dongtai Watermelon.”

　　[1 photo of Dongtai Watermelon] In 2008, Dongtai passed the evaluation organized by the Watermelon Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Horticulture, becoming the first “Hometown of Chinese Watermelon” in the country.

　　The “Dongtai Watermelon” trademark has been approved for registration by the National Trademark Office. It was the first to break the gap in geographical indication certification trademarks for agricultural products, and is currently the only melon product in China approved for national registration with geographical indication status.

　　Dongtai Watermelon has over 800 years of cultivation history. Thanks to its unique geographical location, superior soil conditions, and rich farming experience, it has developed its own distinctive flavor. Varieties such as Extra Small Feng and Early Spring Red Jade meet market demands in terms of fruit size, color, and internal quality. The product sells very well, delighting consumers across the country.

　　Dongtai Watermelon is truly pollution-free, green, and organic.

　　Currently, the majority of Dongtai Watermelon supplied to the market are small-fruited types, typically weighing 1.5–2.0 kg each. There are two types: one with crystal yellow flesh and the other with bright red pulp. The seeds are extremely small, and the rind features light greenish-white stripes.

　　Crystal Yellow Flesh Type Dongtai Watermelon: Includes varieties such as Extra Small Feng and Extra Small Lan. It has a delicate texture and is very juicy, making it an excellent choice for cooling off and quenching thirst.

　　Bright Red Pulp Type Dongtai Watermelon: Commonly the Early Spring Red Jade variety. It has high sugar content, low fiber, and is even more beloved for being sweet, juicy, and highly nutritious.

　　Dongtai Watermelon: The product quality is excellent. Greenhouse multi-layer cover protected cultivation is widely adopted, resulting in fewer pests and diseases. Emphasis is placed on applying organic fertilizer and potassium fertilizer. The product has obtained provincial-level pollution-free certification and national green food quality labels, meeting the standards of high quality and safe consumption.

　　The packaging is exquisite and unique. Small-fruited watermelons are not only great for personal consumption but also make thoughtful gifts. Business operators pay close attention to both internal quality and box design, insisting on size grading, net covering, and variety-based quantitative packaging to ensure customer satisfaction.

　　Dongtai Watermelon has an annual supply of 600,000 tons, with the supply season from April to October.

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　　Dongtai Watermelon has become a well-known brand. It has over 800 years of cultivation history and, thanks to its unique geographical location, superior soil conditions, and rich farming experience, has developed its own distinctive flavor. Varieties such as Extra Small Feng and Early Spring Red Jade meet market demands in terms of fruit size, color, and internal quality. The product sells very well, delighting consumers across the country. In recent years, Dongtai Watermelon has successively achieved pollution-free, green, and organic certifications, and has now advanced to origin-verified watermelon. The brand has grown even more prominent and renowned, marking another proud achievement of Dongtai City’s efforts in implementing an agricultural product branding strategy.

　　A Watermelon Industry Cluster Has Been Formed. Starting from the mid-1990s, the area under watermelon cultivation in Dongtai has increased by over 10,000 mu annually. The city now has 200,000 mu of watermelons, with total production reaching over 600,000 tons and sales revenue nearing 800 million yuan. The average income per mu is 3,800 yuan, making the watermelon industry a leading sector for farmers’ prosperity in Dongtai. Currently, the scale of watermelon cultivation exceeds one-fifth of the city’s total vegetable and fruit planting area and over one-fourth of the province’s greenhouse watermelon cultivation area, highlighting its growing scale advantage. Geographically, it is mainly distributed across more than 10 towns and farms east of the Fan Gong Dike, with Sancang Town being the central watermelon-growing area. Guanju Village in this town is known as a “watermelon village,” with 528 households engaged in watermelon farming, accounting for over 95% of the total number of households. They grow greenhouse watermelons on over 3,200 mu of land year-round, covering more than 90% of the arable land. Additionally, they contract over 10,000 mu of land elsewhere for watermelon farming, with the average household income exceeding 100,000 yuan. A major grower, Zhou Zengbin, planted 250 mu of watermelons and earned a net profit of over 500,000 yuan in 2005.

　　The Market Reach Is Expanding. The Dongtai Watermelon brand has enhanced market visibility and established a relatively complete production–sales coordination mechanism. Major sales destinations include Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Wuxi. In recent years, the brand has also entered cities such as Nanchang, Wuhan, and Fuzhou, continually expanding its market radius. In terms of sales methods, the approach has evolved from organizing promotional exhibitions in major cities to inviting market representatives from these cities for farm visits and signing sales agreements, and now to large markets placing orders directly with Dongtai. A key factor in this progress is the presence of an active group of 2,000–3,000 watermelon brokers in Dongtai. They purchase directly from the greenhouses, enabling farmers to sell their produce at good prices without leaving home. Wang Qing, a broker from Sancang Town, invested over 600,000 yuan in 2004 to establish a fruit and vegetable wholesale market right next to the watermelon fields. To boost sales, Dongtai City also established a Watermelon Production and Sales Association, composed of growers with plots of 30 mu or more and brokers, connecting over 10,000 watermelon farmers in the city. The association also launched the “China Watermelon Network,” providing farmers with a platform to access the market.

　　Advancing Toward Large-Scale Efficient Agriculture. Dongtai Watermelon has laid a solid foundation. To further leverage its advantages, promote large-scale efficient agriculture, elevate the industrial level of Dongtai Watermelon, and enable more farmers to benefit from it, the people of Dongtai are confident and have concrete measures in place. The goal is to expand the city’s watermelon cultivation area to 300,000 mu within five years, with an average income of over 5,000 yuan per mu. Key measures include leveraging the advantages of specialty products, regional cultivation, and high-quality safety standards, optimizing the ecological environment, increasing facility investments, strengthening the industrial chain, and accelerating industrialization. The main focus in production is to continuously update watermelon varieties, further promote the adoption of double-layer greenhouses, and improve supporting technologies such as drip irrigation. On the business side, the focus is on maximizing the use of the Dongtai Watermelon brand, unifying logos and standards, while also creating a favorable development environment for brokers. This will further enhance the role of carriers such as the Watermelon Production and Sales Association and fruit and vegetable wholesale markets, improving the organization of farmers entering the market.

　　Watermelon Photos [2 photos] Improving the organization of farmers entering the market.

　　It is reported that Dongtai City is a nationally renowned “Hometown of Watermelon” and the largest watermelon production base in Jiangsu Province. Over 250,000 mu of watermelons are grown in more than 10 towns including Sancang, Jiaogang, and Sizao, with total production exceeding 1 million tons and annual sales revenue reaching 1.5 billion yuan.