Onion seed price plunges to five-year lowest

The prices of onion seeds dropped to the lowest in five years in Kyaukpadaung Township, NyaungU District, Mandalay Region, the sellers reported on a rare phenomenon.
The onion seeds are primarily produced in Seikphyu, Yenangyoung and Myingyan townships. It is mostly demanded before the winter growing season. A pyi (equivalent to eight tins) of onions is priced at K60,000-130,000. This year, the price stood at only K20,000-25,000 per pyi. It is recorded the five-year lowest, said U Nay Myo Tun, a seed seller.
The onions are planted from seeds and seedlings. Collecting winter onion seeds starts in March and April. Once the onion bulb produces seeds, they should be harvested as heavy rain can spoil the onion.
The price of onion seeds increases during nursery time. We have not experienced such a rare event that the price drastically dropped, said U Soe Min, a grower.
The growers usually store the onion seeds systematically to maintain the quality if the price is low.
The onion market remains sluggish compared with the previous years as the foreign demand has dried up, onion traders stated.
The price of onions stood at K250-750 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kg) in the market, said a grower from the Bayintnaung Wholesale Market.
The closure of border posts resulted in the drastic price drop during the COVID-19 pandemic, making the growers suffer loss.
The onion growers have been facing extreme losses on a downward trend due to the lack of foreign demand. They cannot even cover the cultivation cost as well as afford the harvesting cost for now.
In early 2020, the onion fetched K1,200-1,300 per viss. Then, the price drastically fell in the COVID-19 crisis.
Earlier, onions were highly demanded by Bangladesh and India. The trade with Bangladesh and India has been halted to contain the spread of the coronavirus. That is why the price remained low. The onion growers, as well as traders, have been experiencing market fallouts due to the COVID-19 impacts, said the onion wholesale dealer from Mandalay.
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 high demand by foreign markets and a remarkable price rise prompted the growers to expand the onion cultivation in 2020. Unfortunately, the market is getting worse amidst the COVID-19 negative consequences.
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. — Ko Htein (KPD)/KK/GNLM