New onions from Myittha area fetch good price

On 15 November, 150,000 visses of old onions from various regions and new onions from the Myittha area entered the Yangon market and the price of new onions from the Myittha area touched a high of K3,500 per viss, Ko Swe, a buyer at Bayint Naung Wholesale Market, told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
The prices of old summer onions stood at K3,600-4,500 from the Myingyan area and K3,400-4,300 from the Seikphyu area, whereas new monsoon onions from the Myittha area fetched K2,000-3,500 per viss.
Similarly, an entry of Chinese onions is witnessed in the Yangon market. The size of Chinese onions is the same as that of the Myittha area.
There are three varieties of Chinese onions found in the Yangon market: red, big and yellow onions which are the same as Myittha’s onion. The prices ranged between K2,800 and K3,200 per viss. It is K1,000 cheaper than the old summer onions. The price is relatively lower than the price of new onions from the Myittha area.
It is the first time that monsoon onions entered the Yangon market in mid-November. The growers will get a high price tracking the increase in onion price in the second half of 2022.
The outputs produced by onion-growing countries are expected to decrease. As a result of this, the prices will rise in most of the countries including Myanmar’s neighbouring states, the local entrepreneurs’ forecast.
Myanmar delivered onions to Bangladesh in 2019 through cross-border posts, causing the price to reach a record high of K3,500 per viss.
In 2022, the onion prices hit a fresh new peak of K4,600 per viss on the low yield and the strong demand by southeastern border markets. However, there is a lack of orders from the western border market as the onions are priced at only K2,000 per viss in Bangladesh.
Although the traders are speculating about the high price in the international markets, they are wondering whether those traders who keep the summer onion stocks in hand receive higher profits or not. About 4,000-6,000 visses of onions are produced per acre. The cultivation cost is approximately K2.5 million so the original price is K600 per viss.
That price is higher this year compared to that of the previous years. The net profit of onion traders who keep the stocks in hand is around K2,000 per viss of onions this year.
The onion growers are expecting high prices like the paddy price as they cannot afford to hoard the stocks. — TWA/GNLM