by Ni Moe Myint
Wednesday, 29 July 2009 18:33
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Prices of onions have doubled in a month and touched the highest point after 2006.
The price of high quality onions, usually consumed by hotels, rose from Kyat 650 to 1,300 (approximately USD 1) last month while the price of the ordinary variety rose from Kyat 300 per viss (1.65 kg) to Kyat 800.
In May and June this year, over 50,000 viss of onions were supplied to the commodity exchange in Rangoon but it came down to over 30,000 viss in July, according to statistics from the Myanmar Farm Produce Marketing Enterprise.
The Ministry of Commerce and Trade is now toying with the idea of importing onions from India and China.
“In previous years, we exported our surplus to them, but this year we have to import from them,” a senior official from Commerce and Trade Ministry said.
Following severe shortage in 2006, onion prices shot up to Kyat 2,000 per viss. Now onion growing acreage has declined and because of export to Thailand and low buffer stock, the supply of onions has dwindled in the market again.
A commodity exchange official in Bayintnaung said that onion farmers lost a lot in 2007 and 2008.
But the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, Myanmar Onion Garlic Kitchen Garden Producers’ and Exporters’ Association, said, ‘onion buffer stock operators may lose’ and ‘onion price will fall soon’.
“I have reduced my onion consumption while preparing a meal”, a housewife from Tamwe Township said.
It is estimated that the consumption of onion in Burma is over five million viss per month and in Rangoon alone, the consumption is over 1 million viss per month.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
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