Minbu market sees onion bustling trade

The prices of onions are slightly rising and the Minbu market sees brisk sales, onion brokers said.
“Onion growers earlier struggled to survive with the collapse of the onion market, with the prices of K150-200 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kilogrammes). The retail prices stand at K700-800 per viss at present and the wholesale price is at K500-600 per viss,” said U Tun, an onion buyer.
The stocks have declined in the market. When onions were priced around K1,700-1,800 per viss in the previous year, the demand significantly dropped, traders said.
The prices regain in April and May. The onions are highly demanded at K500-600 per viss, U Thar Paw, an onion trader.
The inflows of onions are seen regularly in Minbu depot, with an estimated volume of 60,000 visses per day, a depot owner Daw Lei Lei said.
The onion growers, as well as traders, experienced market fallouts during the COVID-19 pandemic since the foreign demand dried up.
Next, Bangladesh’s demand for Myanmar’s onions coupled with high demand in the local market hiked up prices, soaring up to K4,000 per viss on 15 November 2019, according to the Mandalay commodity depot.
The prices of domestic onions exceeded K3,000 per viss in 2015, 2018, and 2019.
The onions are primarily grown in Mandalay, Magway and Yangon regions, Nay Pyi Taw and Shan State. — Zeyar Htet, KK/GNLM