CNI News

8 Dec 2022

Onion yields have dropped in Myittha and Pakokku townships and Yaw area, major onion cultivation hubs, as farmers had not been able to use sufficient fertilizer during the cultivation season, and onion prices have risen, according to merchants.

Although onion prices stand at MMK 3,000 per viss in warehouses in Pakokku, they hit MMK 5,000 in Yangon and Mandalay regions.

The skyrocketed prices of onions must be attributed to excessively low yields, Merchant U Hla Thaung of the Pakokku Merchants and Brokers Association told the CNI.

A buyer at an onion shop. (GETTY IMAGES)

He said, "Onion yields dropped because farmers had not been able to use sufficient fertilizer during the cultivation season. Some farmers who sold onions to us could harvest only about 800 visses of onions per acre. Normally, they can harvest as many as 3,000 viss of onions per acre. The yields were very low and the prices have skyrocketed."

The price of onions harvested in Myittha is sold at abut MMK 4,000 per viss in warehouses at Bayintnaung Commodity Exchange in Yangon Region.

As a result, onion pirces have risen to MMK 5,000 per viss in the retail market due to transportation charges, according to onion warehouses.

Onion prices are likely to hover around current prices until January, when summer onions are harvested, U Soe Win from Manaw Thu Kha Brokerage in Bayintnaung Commodity Exchange told the CNI. He added that onion prices are likely to fall to around MMK 1,000 per viss in March.

An onion farmer. (GETTY IMAGES)

He said, "Onion prices will remain at this level until January and new onions will be harvested in March. When summer onions are harvested, the prices will fall to about MMK 900 per viss. Last year, the old summer onions had dropped to MMK 300 and 400 per viss when monsoon onions were harvested in December. So, their prices stood at about MMK 600. Yields and trading were normal last year and prices did not rise. This year, yields and cultivation acreage dropped this year."

Normally, prices drop when new onions are harvested but this did not happen this year due to decreased cultivation acreage, low yields and transportation problems.