Peanut prices stay high in domestic market

The prices of peanuts continued to rise at K7,900 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kilogrammes), according to the Mandalay Wholesale Commodity Centre.
During the last week of November 2022, the peanut market was stagnant due to a lack of demand by oil millers and foreign buyers.  The peanut prices fell to K4,700-5,750 per viss then.  The prevailing prices move up to K6,000 -7,900 per viss.
Strong demand in both domestic and external markets elevated the price, according to Mandalay commodity depot.
Peanuts from various regions is entering Mandalay commodity depots at present. Both Chinese traders and local oil millers are purchasing them in the competitive market.
Myanmar has been shipping oil seeds (sesame seeds and peanuts) to foreign countries. Last April 2022, the world’s top palm oil exporter Indonesia, which is one of the main oil suppliers to Myanmar, declared an export ban on cooking oil export to reduce the domestic shortage. Consequently, Myanmar’s Trade Department under the Ministry of Commerce temporarily suspended exports of oil crops (peanut and sesame) from 9 May 2022 to have oil self-sufficiency.
Exports of Myanmar’s edible oil crops resumed as the world’s top palm oil exporters returned to normalcy, according to a notification dated 5 July 2022 released by the Trade Department.
The country shipped more than 18,000 kilogrammes of peanut worth US$21.096 million to foreign markets through the border trade channels as of 3 February in the current financial year 2022-2023 since April 2022. — NN/EM