On 10 February 2023, the price of sugar reached nearly K3,000 per viss in the Yangon sugar market.
The wholesale price of sugar went up to K2,850 per viss on 8 February and K2,950 per viss on 9 February. In the Mandalay market, a viss of sugar was priced at K2,830 as wholesale, adding around K100 per viss of freight to Yangon.
Despite the increasing price, there are difficulties in buying sugar in the market. Dealers are unable to purchase the desired amount of sugar, said a dealer, Ko Min.
Sugar mills cannot fulfil the demand of hoarders because excess sugar from domestic usage is exported to foreign countries, causing the rise in the price of sugar. Sugar was shipped with the price rate of US$600 per tonne.
Sugar from mills in Bago Region, which is commonly seen in the sugar market, is rarely traded in the Yangon market these days. Only sugar from sugar mills in upper Myanmar is mainly commodified in the market.
Domestic sugar mills only operate for five months a year, and even during a half of that operating time, the price of sugar can reach K3,000 per viss.
In 2022, the wholesale price of sugar skyrocketed to K2,650 per viss, along with the palm oil, rice, chilli pepper, onion, and jaggery prices which rose to an unprecedented record in the chronicle of domestic commodity market. Only the price of sugar did not fall and rose again in early 2023.
Therefore, sugar is the only commodity whose price has risen above the record price of 2022 since 2023. In the domestic sugar market, the price of wholesale sugar was recorded at K1,750 per viss in October 2010 which is the highest price in the past 10 years until 2020.
Domestically produced sugar is around 500,000 tonnes per year, and the surplus sugar from domestic consumption is around 50,000 tonnes. It is known that extra sugar is to be exported this year. — TWA/CT
