Chinese potato, onion prices decline in Yangon market

The onions imported from China entered the Yangon market at a cheaper rate of K1,600 per viss on 22 September, said Ko Aung, a wholesaler from Bayintnaung told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
Yangon markets saw a downtick in potato and onion prices, along with a fall in Kyukok garlic prices, Ko Thet, a trader who sends commodities to regions outside Yangon, told the GNLM.
On 14 September, the wholesale price of Chinese potatoes rose to K2,500 per viss. The price slid to K2,050 per viss on 22 September. Similarly, the price of Chinese onions decreased from K2,750 per viss on 13 September to K1,800 per viss on 17 September.
As Chinese potatoes cannot be used in potato chip businesses, it is relying on the consumers only in Yangon markets. Large Chinese potatoes were commonly seen in the market. Chinese potatoes which are the same size as Shan potatoes are not separately imported for now.
The wholesale price of medium and small potatoes (A1/OK/S1) from the Aungban area, Shan State stood at K1,400-1,600 per viss on 22 September. The supply of Shan potato (S2) variety to Yangon markets is pretty low so the price stayed elevated at K2,150 per viss, the GNLM quoted Ko Thein Myint, a potato seller, as saying.
Potatoes are easy to spoil. It has flaws and sprouts sometimes. So, the consumers always carefully choose potatoes in the market.
As potato rot disease can spread easily, infected potatoes are removed from the warehouses. Chinese potatoes are still flooding the market.
When onion prices touched a high of K3,850 per viss in the wholesale market on 2 September, Chinese onions started entering the Yangon market on 13 September at K2,750 per viss, Ko Kyaw Han, an onion buyer on Nguwah Street, told the GNLM.
After that, local onions from the Seikphyu area declined to K3,000 per viss. However, the price slightly increased again on low stocks.
The prices of local onions from the Seikphyu area were K2,800-3,200 in recent days. — TWA/GNLM