Onion growers expect high price to cover production costs

According to the local farmers, onion growers from Taungtha township are expecting a high price to cover the production costs this year.
The onions are grown along Hsintewah creek. Now, all the onions have yielded, and nearly all the harvested onions are already stored in the warehouse.
Onion is priced only K250 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kg). But, the nursery plants of onion cost around K100,000 per basket. With the rising production costs, the local farmers face the prospect of a loss. The cost of production of a viss of onion is ranging K400-K 500. So, the local growers have already submitted the matters to the related authorities to cover the cultivation costs.
“Onion growers have been losing the cultivation costs for three years already.  The merchants association has also coordinated with those concerned to solve this issue. Now, the growers are expecting to get a better price of onion. The onion production is also down this year than that of last year,” said U Win Naung, the chairperson of Merchant’s Association. —Kyaw Myo Naing (Taungtha Township IPRD)/GNLM