Entry of one-mln visses of onions to Yangon market drives price fall within 5 days

About one million visses of onion from various regions entered the Yangon market between 30 January and 3 February and the prices were falling, onion and potato seller Ko Swe Linn from Nyaungpinlay market told to the GNLM.
On 3 February, the wholesale prices of onion stood at K1200-1300-1400-1300 per viss from the Myingyan area, K1800-2150-2100-1900 from the Myittha area, K1300-1400-1400-1400 from Seikphyu and K1000-1200-1200-1200 from Meiktila area on 3 February.
On 2 February, the unsold Myingyan onion entered the Pakokku market reaching 49,200 visses on 3 February and its highest price was K1,150 per viss. On 2 February, 92,000 visses of onion entered the market at K500 to K1,150 per viss, according to the daily prices of the market.
In the Yangon market, the new Myingyan onion prices were K4,400 per viss and K4,800 per viss of Myittha onion on 8 December 2022 and the prices dropped by half about over two months.
Despite the price fall, the new monsoon onion prices reached their highest on 3 February compared to the same period.
The onion production cost was between K2.5 million and K3 million per acre later in mid-2022. It produces about 4,000 visses per acre and fetches K2,000 per viss and makes about a K5 million profit per acre, according to onion farmers from Seikphyu Township.
In the onion market, the merchants save the summer onions and some onion farmers also keep the onions.
During the period of new onion, it fetches below K800 per viss while K500 per viss in certain years. The onion production cost is between K1.5 million and K2 million per acre and it produces from 4,000 visses to 6,000 visses per acre, said onion farmer Ko Khin Maung Myint from Pale township.
The onion merchants purchase the products in summer and resell them in the market within eight months until December. Sometimes, they face losses including their capital and 25per cent of reduced prices and original prices.
Despite the losses, it capital price of a viss including the reduced price is K1,000 and the reselling price is only about K700 per viss. In 2015,2019 and 2022, the capital price of a viss including the reduced price was K1,000 and the reselling price was about K3,000 per viss in 2015 and 2016 and K4,000 in 2022.
Therefore, the losses of merchants hit record during the prices reached a record high in three years. —TWA/KTZH