Prices of onion, Chinese potato extend drop

The prices of onion and Chinese potato have declined from the last week of September 2022. Bayintnaung Wholesale Market saw an extended drop of Chinese potatoes, Ko Myint Thu, a seller told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
The onions from the Seikphyu area were priced at K2,800-K3,200 per viss on 21 September. On 23 September, the prices of onions from the Seikphyu area slid to K2,700-K3,100 on 23 September and K2,600-K3,000 per viss on 24 September respectively. The onions from the Myingyan area declined from K2,500-K2,900 per viss.
The maximum price of onion from the Seikphyu area touched K3,100 per viss on 20 September and it fell to K2,700 per viss on 25 September. Similarly, onions from Pakokku area dropped from K3,100 to K2,800 on 25 September, market data in those areas showed.
On 2 September, onions from Monywa hit a record price of K3,850 and those from Seikphyu area touched the highest of K3,600 per viss in Yangon markets. Nevertheless, Chinese onions flooded the Yangon market at a cheaper rate on 13 September.
Between 17 and 20 September, supply to the Yangon market dropped by half, pushing up the price. However, lack of foreign demand in the Yangon market brought down the price, Ko Myo Win, a trader who delivers goods to regions outside Yangon, told the GNLM.
Traders from regions outside Yangon said that there is an onion demand to be exported to Vietnam through Thailand. Yet, a large supply to Yangon lowered the prices.
Likewise, the prices of Chinese potatoes fell again. The wholesale price of onions stood at K2,500 per viss on 15 September and then, it plummeted K1,950 per viss on 24 September. Moreover, local potatoes from Shan State also decreased from K1,500-K2,300 to K1,400-K2,150 per viss on 24 September.
In the corresponding period last year, the onions from the Seikphyu area were estimated at K 225-K475 per viss while Chinese potatoes fetched only K1,400 per viss and Shan potato were worth K850-K1,500 per viss. Thus, the prices are way higher than those of the year-ago period.—TWA/GNLM