One desperate mother has lashed out at Woolworths over the cost of their watermelons.
The mother took to the supermarket’s Facebook page this week to express her disappointment over the cost of a quarter watermelon for $8.58 and a whole one for $34.32.
“Seriously? This is disgusting,” the woman began her post.
“The one fruit my kids eat and it’s nearly $10 for a quarter. I love Woolworths but this is making me shop elsewhere from now on.”
The prices at another of Australia’s biggest supermarkets – Coles – aren’t much kinder on the budget with a quarter setting customers back $7.76 and a whole watermelon retailing for $31.20.
Prices for the whole watermelons are calculated based on a price per kilogram, with news.com.au understanding Woolworths uses $3.90 per kilogram for a 9kg watermelon.
The season for watermelons has just begun, running through until May.
A Woolworths spokesperson told news.com.au: “We pay farmers the market price for their produce, which can be affected by weather and seasonality.
“The start of the watermelon season has been affected by wet growing conditions, resulting in reduced availability.
“However, our farmers have told us that they’ve got a great crop on the way just in time for summer, so our customers can expect to see an improvement in the coming weeks.
“We’re committed to delivering quality Australian fruit and vegetables to our customers at great value, and when in-season produce is in high supply we work hard to pass those savings on to our customers.
“Currently, customers can enjoy great value on an Aussie summer staple, with top quality mangoes in abundance across our stores nationwide.”
News.com.au has contacted Coles for comment.