Bird-eye chilli farmers face losses as prices plummet

Some villages in Kawlin and Wuntho townships of the Sagaing Region grow bird eye chillies for commercial purposes. The chilli farmers face losses for low prices and production cost during this year.
The bird-eye chilli is grown in November and harvested in February. The production cost is only about K100,000 for 0.5 acre, and it makes a profit. So the villagers expand their chilli plantation more than in the previous years.
The 0.5 acre of chilli plantation produced about 700 pyi of chilli, and it can harvest once every ten days. The customers pay K2,500 per pyi. It made more than K5.5 million of profits from half an acre of chilli last year. But this year, the cost is higher than the previous years, and the farmers face losses due to the low production rate. They get only 50 pyis from half an acre. The chilli price is only about K1,400 per pyi, said a chilli farmer from Kyine Khwin village of Wuntho Township.
For low production rate and prices, the farmers plant other crops.
The farmers initially plant a certain crop in small-scale farmland and plant other crops if they do not get fair prices. —Myint Tun Min (Kawlin)/GNLM