Early cultivation of monsoon onions reduces unemployment

Early cultivation of monsoon onion in some areas in August this year reduced unemployment.
From mid-2022, the prices of onions started to rise. The wholesale prices of onion hit fresh peaks at K3,800 per viss in August and K4,800 per viss in November. The prices this year reached a record high earlier than usual.
The onion seeds that month were priced at K40,000 per pyi (eight condensed milk cans). About two to three pyi of seeds are required for cultivation per acre. The onion seedlings can be grown after 20 days from the seeds. Those onions from the Myittha area can be harvested after two and a half to three months, Ko Khin Maung Myint, a grower from Nyaungpinthar, told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
Onion cultivation can create jobs for around 70 workers per acre. A daily wage in the previous years was K4,000. This year, it increased to K5,000. With 100 labours, the onion harvest can be finished in one morning. Then, they are transported to the warehouses after trimming the tops in the afternoon. The yield rate per acre is estimated at 4,000-6,000 viss.
At harvest time, each worker is given about seven visses of onions per acre as the wage. It is not related to the onion prices. The workers received the onions instead of the wages. The cultivation time this year is four months earlier than usual. It creates jobs for residents during the rainy season when there is a lack of employment opportunities, said a grower.
The wholesale prices stood at K4,000-K4,900 per viss of old summer onions from the Myingyan area, K3,600-K4,400 per viss of monsoon new onions from the Myingyan area and K3,600-K4,600 per viss of new onion from Myittha area on 1 December 2022.
Those growers of monsoon onions received the highest price just like that of summer onions in 2022.
The monsoon onion growers create jobs and reap a handsome profit on account of favourable weather. The price this year is K2,000 higher than that of the previous years.
From mid-2022, growers of the new monsoon paddy, new monsoon onions and new chilli peppers do a roaring business. — TWA/GNLM