Monsoon onions enter Yangon market

New monsoon onions from various regions started arriving at the Yangon market as from 6 December 2022. A total of 3,510,000 visses of monsoon onions entered there during 22 depot-opening days in December 2022 and 4,428,000 visses on 25 opening days in January 2023, 4,200,000 visses on 23 opening days in February and 810,000 visses on three opening days in early March respectively. Thus, during the 73 opening days, 12,948,000 visses of onions were distributed from various regions, according to the daily onion import lists mentioned in the Yangon Commodity Depot’s onion price statements.
The wholesale price of stored old onion was set at K5,100 per viss for large size at the Yangon market on 2 December 2022. Likewise, the price of large-size new monsoon onions rose to K4,400 per viss for Myingyan onions and K4,800 per viss for Myittha onions on 8 December 2022.
As of 10 December 2022, the wholesale price of new monsoon onions is around K3,000 per viss for Myingyan onions and around K3,500 per viss for Myittha onions. The prices stood at K2,000 and K2,500 per viss respectively at the end of December.
Onions from Myingyan and Myittha were priced at the wholesale rate per viss of K1,500 and K1,800 in January 2023. In February, the wholesale prices of Myingyan, Seikphyu and Myittha onions were K1,100 and K1,400 per viss on average respectively, the onion price descriptions of Bayintnaung market, Yangon stated.
In 2021 and 2022, new monsoon onions fetched only up to K1,000 per viss. Therefore, it is reported that monsoon onion growers in 2022 have got roughly double the price compared to that of previous years. The production cost of one acre of onion is around K1.5 million to K2 million, Ko Khin Maung Myint, an onion grower from Pale, said.
It is learnt that the cost of agricultural production has reached around K3 million per acre this year due to the increase in the input prices and daily wages of human resources. The onions yields between 4,000 and 6,000 visses per acre. Therefore, the export of 3.5 million visses of onion in December made an average profit per acre of around K5 million in December and around K2 million in February for this year’s monsoon onion growers.
Among the monsoon onions exported to Bayintnaung market, Myittha onions are the most, fetching K300/400 per viss higher than other onions. The wholesale price per viss of onions from Seikphyu area was fixed at K1,050 for small size and K1,175 for medium, large and extra-large sizes in the Bayintnaung market on 4 March. A viss of Myittha onion cost K1,400 in wholesale for small size, K1,650 for medium and large size, and K1,550 for extra-large size.
On 4 March, there were 35 truckloads loading 210,000 visses of onions from various regions entering the Bayintnaung market, while 14 truckloads carrying 80,000 visses of Myittha onions entered. Just as monsoon onions have earned the greater price than previous years, winter-planted summer onions have the potential to increase in both yield and price, according to the onion market. — TWA/CT