Monsoon onions are expected to enter the domestic market in the last week of November if there is no environmental hazard. Approximately 100,000 visses of onions are likely to flow into the market in the first week of December, U Aung Moe, an onion grower told The Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
An influx of new monsoon onions was seen in Yangon’s market in November 2022, at a high price. The demand for onions was high on the back of strong demand by Viet Nam and Thailand, pushing up the onion price to surge to a record high.
The wholesale prices of old onions moved in the range between K4,000 and 5,100 per viss depending on quality and size on 2 December 2022. The prices of new monsoon onions surged to K3,100- K4,700 per viss on 7 December 2022, which was the highest price in history. The monsoon onion price started to fall below K3,000 per viss from the third week of December 2022.
The prices stood at K1,700 and K3,200 per viss at the Seikphyu wholesale market. The prices slumped from K3,200- K4,300 per viss recorded in the year-ago period.
Onions were stockpiled in the markets of regions outside Yangon. The market is relying on domestic demand in the absence of foreign demand.
Only low-quality onions are mostly seen in the market. The onion price is estimated at US$675 per tonne only.
If there is no environmental impact on onion production, there is less chance for the onion price to rise as the new monsoon onion is soon to be harvested, said an onion trader. Those traders who kept the onion stocks in their hands are likely to reap great profits as in 2022. Nonetheless, the monsoon onion prices will be higher than those of summer onions. — TWA/KK
