Banana business highly profitable for Kyaukse residents

Residents of Kyaukse Township in Mandalay Region usually grow paddy, onion, chilli, peanut, sesame, cotton, chickpea and bananas. Now, they are cultivating marketable bananas.
The onion and chilli farmers faced losses due to worker shortage problems and higher labour costs in previous years. Therefore, they start to grow other marketable crops like bananas now, according to the banana farmers.
Bananas are planted in a single row or two rows. The distance between each plant is 8 feet for a single row and about 10 feet for two rows plantation system.
The banana bulb appears in the eighth month, and fruits can be sold in 12 months. About 800 banana plants can be grown in one acre of two lines cultivation system. It costs nearly K800,000 for a banana plantation, including production costs. An bullock-cart containing 40 bunches of banana fetches K150,000. One acre of banana plantation produces about 13 or 15 banana carts, explained farmer U Hla Myo from Hsegon Village of Kyaukse Township. — Thet Maung (Kyaukse)/ GNLM