Tapioca powder price has been steady though its sale has been well due to high demand from China, according to yam growers.
Tapioca is harvested in winter every year so it is not harvesting time in summer though it has been sold in powder form and its sale has been good at present.
“The wholesale price of tapioca power is around K3000 a viss. It has been steady. Now the trade of yam tubers was over and it is the time for powder which can be used for all purposes. It can be substituted for wheat and can be made into sago seeds. For farmers, they hope for price high. It was previously K2800-K3000. Most of buyers are from China, they buy powder and produce finished products. Farmers earn from it,” said a yam grower.
Sago seed ,which is one of Myanmar foods, is produced from sago plant as well as tapioca plants, and most of sago seeds available in the market are produced from tapioca. It has high content of carbohydrate and sago seed produced from sago plant and tapioca is not different.
China and India are biggest buyers for tapioca powder and Myanmar lies between the two countries, therefore tapioca is a crop which can seek foreign earnings for Myanmar.
In past, tapioca was grown traditionally but it has switched to framing method which can help increase in yield. Yam tubers can be dug in 8 months and production of finished product may decline if it is dug after 15 months. For making seedling, it can be dug after 10 months and chance to reach plant stage may be low if it is dug after 15 months.
Thit Taw/ZS
