Dragon fruits from Popa sold for lower prices despite high yield

The dragon fruits from Popa, Kyaukpadaung township, Mandalay region are being sold only at K650 per kilogramme despite high yield, said U Aung Win, a dragon fruit grower from Hsin Hsin village.
Although the dragon fruits from the Popa region are good quality fruits. It is also learned that the price of dragon fruit usually goes down when there is a high supply of dragon fruit in its farming. The dragon fruits are cultivated mostly in Popa, Taung Kalap, Popa Lwin, Hse Naga Lae, Shaw Taw and Hsin Hsin villages. There are three types of dragon fruit species_ white, yellow and red. But, people from those villages grew only two types of fruit such as white and red, Daw San San Myint, a local dragon fruit grower from Shaw Taw village explained.
The dragon fruits are ripened and sold in May. The dragon fruits season ends in November. If the plants are under good care, they can be harvested and sold for up to 17 years, said U Aung Win from Hsin Hsin village.
After growing dragon fruits for three months, the trees needed to be fertilized. The dragon fruits are water-loving plants that need to be irrigated to keep the soil moist.
But it seldom likes waterlogging.
The dragon fruit stem is heavy and it has to be cultivated with concrete poles. The price of dragon fruit is not consistent, but the price could fluctuate when the fruit is started to yield.
There are always two prices for dragon fruit. At the beginning of its season, it is sold at K500 to K1,200 per fruit in the market, but the price is spirally coming downward.
The dragon fruit sold online are expensive, said U Aung Win.
Currently, the dragon fruits from Popa are being sold for lower prices at K650 per kilogramme despite good yield, said Daw San San Myint. — Ko Htein-KPD/GNLM