The price of tamarind, which stayed flat over H1, started rising in early September, Ko Hla Han, an owner of the tamarind from the Bayintnaung Wholesale Market, told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
Only the seedless tamarind is priced higher at K2,800-4,200 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kilogrammes) depending on quality in the wholesale market in Yangon, whereas the price of tamarind with seeds has remained unchanged at K2,100-2,200 per viss for eight months.
Between January and August 2022, the prices of tamarind hit the highest of K3,500-3,600 per viss only.
In 2022, although kitchen grocery food items inflated, tamarind prices were stable. There is a saying that tamarind prices stay low when the prices of other commodities climb up. However, tamarind price goes up when other price indices are constant, Ko Min Ko, a tamarind vendor on Kayay Street, told the GNLM.
On 14 January, fresh tamarind entered the Yangon market with the wholesale price of K2,000 per viss. The price slid to K1,850 per viss on 24 January. The seeded tamarind prices have stayed at K2,100-2,200 per viss since then. Meanwhile, the prices of seedless tamarind gradually increased from K2,950 per viss. In the first week of September, it peaked at K4,200 per viss.
In the corresponding period 2021, the prices of seeded tamarind were K1,400-1,500 per viss and the seedless tamarind were priced at K1,900-2,400 per viss. During the same period of 2020, the prices stood at K2,100-2,200 per viss of seeded tamarinds and K2,800-3,500 per viss of seedless tamarinds. The seedless tamarind prices were estimated at K2,800 per viss in late 2021 and K3,900-4,000 per viss in December 2020, the market data indicated.
Traders from regions outside Yangon speculated about the good price of tamarind in the harvest season in early 2022, while traders involved in Bayintnaung Wholesale Market predicted the different opinions from it.
The wholesale prices of jaggery started to inch higher this month. On 7 September 2022, the jaggery prices moved in the range of K2,600 and K3,400 depending on the qualities and jaggery producing area. The prices indicated a sharp increase of K250-300 per viss compared to the previous week (the last week of August), Ko Kyin from a jaggery warehouse located on Nguwah Street.
The jaggery prices stood at K1,425-2,000 per viss on 7 September 2020 and K1,900-2,400 per viss in the year-ago period (2021) respectively.
Thus, the jaggery price hit a three-year high in early September 2022. The inflation of commodity prices is seen in the kitchen grocery market in Yangon, said a trader who delivers the goods to the regions and states. — TWA/GNLM
