The Kherson watermelon became a victim of the occupation: Ukraine lost over 70% of its pre-war production
Ukraine has lost its watermelon production capacity due to the Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast
Due to the full-scale war and the occupation of the southern territories, Ukraine has lost more than 70% of pre-war watermelon production. The greatest losses were sustained in Kherson Oblast, where the main melon fields remained on the temporarily occupied left bank.
On July 10, 2026, agricultural market expert Oleksandr Khorev said this in a comment to the publication “Kommersant Ukrainian”. According to him, it is currently impossible to assess the real condition of the crops in the occupied territory and to forecast the size of the harvest. Production has also not been fully restored on the de-occupied lands of Mykolaiv Oblast.
Oleksandr Khorev assessed the scale of the loss of Ukrainian watermelon production after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.
“If we are talking about the start of the full-scale war, then we have probably lost 70% or more of all production,” – the expert commented.
Because of the occupation of Kherson Oblast, Ukraine has practically lost the ability to export late watermelon varieties, which were harvested in September, to European Union countries. At the same time, the expert does not predict a shortage on the domestic market: melon cultivation has spread to the central, western and other regions of the country.
On the de-occupied right bank of Kherson Oblast, as of the beginning of June 2026, farmers planted about 1,000 hectares of watermelons and more than 400 hectares of melons. Due to a cool and rainy spring, plant development lagged by approximately two weeks, so the first harvest was expected at the beginning of July.
Previously we wrote:
- Combine harvester, metal detector and a water truck: how harvest looks now in Mykolaiv Oblast
- An abnormal spring is destroying the crop: up to 51% of apricots lost in Mykolaiv Oblast
- Mykolaiv farmers will be compensated up to 50% of the cost of irrigation systems
- Big harvest – big problems: watermelon prices are plummeting
- Agricultural front: farmers in Kherson Oblast harvest amid drones and drought
