New monsoon onion, Chinese onion enter markets

Although new monsoon onions enter the market normally in December about 10,000 visses already entered the countryside market before this mid-November and prices were about K1,000 lower than old onions, according to Myingyan and Pakokku markets.
New onions would enter the Yangon market during this month, Ko Kyaw Oo, an onion purchaser at the Bayintnaung Wholesale Centre told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
Since early November, new monsoon onions have entered the Myingyan market amounting to about 7,000 visses per day and the highest price was K2,800 per viss.
Similarly, about 7,241visses of onions entered the Pakokku market on 11 November at its highest price of K2800 per viss. New onions that entered the market on 11 November are marketable ones, said a merchant. The broker of the market expressed daily prices and they did not state the old onion prices starting 11 November but new onion prices.
The leftover onion amount is lower in onion-producing areas and the onion volume transported to Yangon is still high. Chinese onions are still entering Mandalay and Yangon markets at lower prices. When the large-sized summer onion fetches K4,600 per viss, the Chinese onion is priced at only K3,000 per viss.
Only the lower amount of old summer onions entered the Yangon market on 11 November and the transactions were slack, Ko Swe Myint, a daily onion and potato purchaser told the GNLM.
The sales of small-sized old onions are on the rise despite medium-sized onions that get K3,500 per viss, said onion seller Ko Thein from Yaytama street.
Only the new monsoon onion and Chinese onion can enter the market starting mid-November.
Prices can be lower than the prices of old summer onions. There is no demand for new monsoon onions at the border and there will be only transactions for local consumption, so the prices will decline again, said a purchaser.
Onion prices hit a record high and people reduced the consumption rate. In 2021, onion prices including delivery services were only below K1,000 per viss. Later mid-term period of this year, the people halved the amount, said customers and onion sellers in Yangon.
The record high prices of onions affected onion growers who sold in the new season and it only benefited the rich onion growers and traders. However, those who grow the monsoon onion in the early period and Chinese onion importers also reaped healthy profits.
The onion prices become higher as there were demands from Bangladesh in 2019 and Viet Nam in 2022.—TWA/GNLM