Yangon lacks local Shan potatoes for 2 days due to rotting, low price

Although potatoes from Aungban Township, Shan State have not entered the Yangon Market on 31 August and 1 September, they’re back in the market on 2 September, said Ko Aung, a potato and onion retailer to the GNLM.
The Yangon retail outlet’s daily price statement indicated the price of China potatoes as K1,950-2,000 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kilogrammes) on 1 September, without mentioning the local Shan potatoes’ price. It stated that the import volume of China potatoes was 66,000 viss. After the arrival of local Shan potatoes, they were priced at K1,400-2,200 per viss based on varieties, and China potatoes at K2,000 per viss, in the wholesale market.
“Despite the lack of local Shan potatoes in the Yangon market, potato price was stable in five consecutive days along with the availability of China potatoes, unlike the rising price of onions in the same period,” local retailer Ko Lin Htut told the GNLM.
Even though people are rushing to buy potatoes in the market on 2 September 2020, the large potato’s price fetched only K950 per viss on 3 September 2020. The price went up to K1,450 per viss on 3 September afternoon. On 4 September morning, the market price stand at K1,350 per viss and decreased to the regular price of K1,000 per viss that evening.
The rate of large local Shan potatoes has risen to K2,500 per viss in early December 2021. Except that, the highest record price till 2 September 2022 was K2,200 per viss.
China potatoes’ price reached K2,400 per viss from the middle of August 2022 to date.
August is the time to harvest potatoes that were planted in April and the time for recultivation. The production cost for one acre of potato plantation with an output of around 4,000 visses per acre is approximately K7 million. Thus, the capital for a viss of potatoes costs around K1,500-1,600, the GNLM quoted an official from NGO Potato Growers Association.— TWA/GNLM