New summer rice of non-premium quality started flowing into Yangon’s Wahdan rice depot in the second week of March, Ko Kyaw engaged in the rice depot told The Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
Monsoon non-premium rice fetches K85,500 per sack, whereas summer Thuka rice variety is worth only K81,500 per sack. Therefore, the demand for summer rice is higher than that for monsoon rice in the market due to fairer prices.
Monsoon non-premium rice (90-day short matured rice) is valued at K98,000-K100,000 per sack. Pawkywe rice price is around K100,000 per sack. The prices of premium Pawsan rice from Ayeyawady are declining. The prices of premium Pawsan rice varieties move in the range between K122,000-K160,000 per sack depending on producing areas (Pyapon, Bogale, Mawgyun, Myaungmya, Shwebo). The stick rice prices are K85,000-K105,000 per sack. Pawsan rice price showed a decrease of K1,000-K1,500 per sack compared with the prices registered in late February. Meanwhile, the price of sticky rice is down by K10,000.
The rice prices decreased in the second week of March, yet they were higher than those of the previous year, Ko Tin Aye, a rice trader, addressed.
The prices stood at K55,000 per sack of summer non-premium rice, K61,000 for 90-day short-matured rice and K70,000-K90,000 for Pawsan rice in the second week of 2023. The prices were K1.92 million per 100 baskets of premium Pawsan and K1.6 million for non-premium paddy, as per the figures of a rice mill in Wakema Township.
This year, the actual market value of paddy is way higher than the reference prices, so the prices have not been revealed officially, said a rice trader. The paddy prices were approximately K3.3-K3.4 million per 100 baskets of Pawsan and K2.4-K2.5 million for non-premium paddy in March 2024. The mature Pawsan paddy produces 70 baskets per acre.
Therefore, it generates K2.3 million per acre as per the prevailing market price, U Soe Tint, a farmer working 20 acres in Satkyun village in Bogale Township, told the GNLM. Pawsan paddy price hit K3.5 million per 100 baskets in February 2024 and then plunged this month.
As both paddy and rice prices rose compared with those of last year, the farmers might reap a handsome profit. — TWA/KK
