High influx of onion pushes down prices

With 482,000 viss of onion being supplied to the Yangon, Seikphyu, Myingyan and Pakokku areas, the prices dropped on 12 March 2024, figures of Bayintnaung Wholesale Market indicated.
The prices moved in the range between K2,200 and K3,700 per viss depending on sizes and producing areas (Pakokku, Myingyan and Myittha) on that day. The figures reflected a decrease of K200 per viss compared to those in the previous days. The prices stood at K1,050-K1,750 per viss in the corresponding period last year.
The prices recorded in the second week of March this year are two times higher than that of the year-ago period, prompting the growers to start harvesting the onions earlier than before.
Some regions have seen high inflows of summer onions recently. Traders who store the stocks buy high-quality summer onions. The onion growers expect bullish sentiment this year.
Onion traders who kept the stocks in their hands reaped a great gross profit of K2,000 per viss in the fourth quarters of 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2023. The traders received around K10 million per truck loaded with 20,000 visses of onions in early 2024.
The onion cultivation acres are estimated at 100,000 per year, with the production of 600 million visses (one million tonnes). As onions are perishable goods, about 25 per cent of them result in waste. The supply to Yangon city is estimated at four million visses of onions per month. Onions are also exported to foreign markets beyond self-sufficiency. — TWA/EM