Farmers in the Turkestan region have begun harvesting the first crop of melons and gourds for 2026. To date, 600 tons of watermelons and 500 tons of melons have been collected. This year, the sown area for watermelons amounted to 20,000 hectares, and for melons, 42,000 hectares. Significant areas under melons and gourds are concentrated in the Zhetysay district, where about 80,000 hectares of irrigated land have been sown, of which 17,100 hectares are occupied by melon and gourd crops.
The first batches of fresh watermelons and melons have already been sent to markets in major cities of Kazakhstan, and export shipments to the Russian Federation have also begun. In the coming weeks, the pace of harvesting will increase. An increase in production volumes is expected to meet domestic market demand and expand export supplies.