Sale of toddy-palm chairs in Kyaukpadaung drops

The people from Intawkyel village, Kyaukpadaung Township of Mandalay Region are manufacturing a lot of toddy-palm chairs and selling them in bulk, it is learnt.
But this is a year with less demand for the toddy-palm chair, said U Win Naing, a toddy-palm chair maker. The Intawkyel village, manufacturing toddy-palm chairs, palm tables and palm boxes, is located on Kyaukpadaung-Meiktila Road, and it is only five miles away from Kyaukpadaung town.
Yearly, they collect the toddy-palm and are making a large volume of palm chairs which can generate family income from selling them, he added.
The toddy-palm chairs from Intawkyel village are displayed beside the road. The chairs are bought by the domestic travellers visiting the Bagan-NyaungU archaeological site, stopping their car. Last year, the toddy-palm chairs sold well. However, the sale of the toddy-palm chairs has dropped significantly this year.
The palm chair makers are buying the branches of toddy palm for K50 per one to make the toddy-palm chairs. Other materials such as hammers and nails are needed to make the toddy-palm chairs. They sell a chair for K4,500 for a normal chair and K6,000 for a reclining one.
This year, the sales of palm chairs dropped sharply. Every year, we have sold a lot of chairs. This year, we could sell only a few toddy-palm chairs, U Ohn Nyo said, making a deep sigh. — Ko Htein (KPD)/GNLM