Prices of onions see rapid decline

The Yangon market received 240,000 visses of onion from various regions on 11 January and 180,000 visses on 12 January 2023. On 12 January, the price of onion from the Myingyan area drastically declined by K300 per viss and that of Myittha onion by K350 per viss.
The wholesale price of Myingyan onion was K1,900-K2,400 per viss and that of Myittha onion was K2,300-K2,550 per viss on 11 January. The prices changed to K1,700-K2,000 per viss for Myingyan onion the next day and K2,100-K2,300 per viss for Myittha onion, depending on various varieties.
A total of 60,000 visses of onion entered the Pakokku market on 12 January with the highest price of K1,850 per viss. At the Mandalay market, onion from the Myittha area was rated at the highest price of K2,200 per viss and the lowest price of K1,800 per viss. They entered the Myingyan market with a bulk of 118,000 visses on 11 January and were priced only at the highest rate of K2,100 per viss.
There is a probability that onions from various regions can join Myingyan and Myittha onions in the market during this month, due to the initiated shipments of onion growers from various regions.
After mid-2022, stored onion prices went up earlier than usual, urging growers to start the cultivation of monsoon onions in large quantities. Regional markets and the Yangon market saw multiple supplies of monsoon onions daily, due to the excess yield despite the damages in the plantation.
The price of onions increased in mid-2022 since there is an export demand to Vietnam through the Thai border. The record price hit K3,800 per viss in August and K5,100 per viss in November.
It is known that old autumn onions are no longer entering the Pakokku market starting from the second week of November 2022 and the Yangon market from 6 December, but only new monsoon onions are entering.
It is known that around 100,000 visses of onions enter the Myingyan market every day, and 150,000 visses of onions enter the Yangon market daily on average.
Although the onion prices decreased, it is still higher than in the same period last year. Growers are expecting to get higher prices than normal years in the period when new cold season onions enter the market, before the Thingyan Festival, just as monsoon onion growers are getting higher prices than normal years. — TWA/CT