The makers of locally made colourful lanterns are doing a roaring trade with competitive prices in domestic markets as the Thadingyut Festival nears, said U Toe Gyi, a lantern maker from Mandalay. Those lanterns are made from bamboo and coloured wax paper. We produced 16 innovative designs of lanterns this year. The lanterns started to be supplied from July, he added.
“The coloured lanterns can be sold for about six months per year. We do not make large profits due to the high cost of raw materials. The buyers from other regions made purchase orders in advance. The sellers from Mandalay mostly buy them when the festival is approaching. We prepared the raw materials first before the festival seasons,” he elaborated.
There are lanterns in the shapes of animals, vehicles, ships, aeroplanes and cartoon characters to attract the attention of the children. The wholesale prices range from K500 to K8,000 per piece depending on designs and sizes. — Maung Aye Chan/EM
