Chinese potato price climbs, yet Kyukok garlic price dips

Out of imported kitchen groceries (Chinese onions, Kyukok garlic and potato), Kyukok garlic price is sliding while Chinese potato price is rising, according to the Yangon commodity market.
Those imported kitchen groceries flow into the Yangon market through Mandalay. The fluctuation in the Kyat exchange rate against foreign currencies caused the prices of imported goods to vary rapidly. However, the prices are moving up and down, said a trader who sends the goods to regions outside Yangon.
When the prices of locally produced onions soared in Yangon markets, Chinese onions entered the Yangon market at a cheaper rate. The price of Chinese onions is K500 lower than that of local ones. Although Chinese onions are in low demand, it can stop the price hike of local onions. The wholesale price of Chinese potatoes increased from K1,950 to K2,300 per viss on 5 October.
However, Kyukok garlic price dipped to K3,450 per viss in the wholesale market, Ko Myint Oo, a potato and onion depot owner on Yetama Street, told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM). Meanwhile, the prices of potatoes from Shan State (Aungban) stood at K1,500-1,600 per viss. As Chinese potatoes cannot be used in potato chip businesses, it relies on the consumer market. However, the price of Chinese potatoes is still higher than that of local potatoes, Ko Kyaw Kyaw, a seller of potatoes, told the GNLM.
The wholesale prices of Chinese potatoes were K2,450-2,500 per viss in mid-September 2022. The price dipped to K1,900-1950 on 26 September. Then, the price rebounded to K2,300 per viss on 5 October.
Kyukok garlic price stood at K5,000 per viss on 1 September. After one month, the price fell to K3,450 per viss on 5 October. The local garlic price moved in the range between K2,700 and K4,200 per viss on 1 September. The prices of garlic from Shan State were K2,800-3,800 per viss.
Not all commodities imported from the border market are not priced high. The price condition is positively related to the demand of the domestic markets, GNLM quoted Ko Chit Tun, a veteran trader, as saying.—TWA/GNLM