13 November
The price of new onions is expected to be volatile in November, said U Thein Win, the owner of a local onion depot on Nyaungtabin road in Monywa.
“In the next 15 days, new onions will be entering the market. We won’t dare guess the price of new onions. I think, the price of new onions will be based on the current market price. Anyway, the new onions will be marketable at any price because they have an inelastic demand,” said U Thein Win.
Currently, the price of good-quality onions is K2,000 per viss, while that of low-quality ones is ranging from K1,000 to K1,300.
“Now, the price of onions is a bit on the decline. New onions have not entered the market yet. The onion price is expected to be higher than last year. The market entry price is K350 per viss. At present, there are a few onions entering the market,” he added.
Myanmar consumes 5 million viss of onions per month. The demand for onions stands at around 60 million viss per year.
“Onions are directly purchased from Bangladesh and India. Sometimes, we have to send onions to the Yangon market. Therefore, the price of onions can increase significantly. In 2017, the price of onions touched a record high of K3,000-K3,500 per viss,” said a local onion grower.
Onions are mainly grown in Pakokku, Seikpyu, Salin, Hsinphyukyun, Yenangyoung, Kyaukpaduang, Taungdwingyi, Myingyan, Taungtha, Myittha, Kyaukse, Monywa, and Yinmabin.
Onion acreage is less in the lower regions of Myanmar.—Myo Win Tun (Monywa)
(Translated by Hay Mar)
