CNI News
9 August 2022
After the Central Bank of Myanmar hiked the official exchange rate of US$ against MMK from MMK 1,850 per US$ to MMK 2,100 per US$, the demand for onions grew and prices rose to as much as MMK 2,000 per viss.
The demand for onions, which was very low in July, grew starting from 8th August and most traders were buying onions for export to Thailand and Vietnam, U Hla Thaung, a member of Pakokku Township Merchants and Brokers Association, told the CNI.
U Hla Thaung said, “The demand for onions is growing. Merchants from Myawady and exporters to Vietnam purchased onion after the CBM raised the official exchange rate from MMK 1,850 to MMK 2,100 per US$. When the official exchange rate was set at MMK 1,850 per US$, the sales slowed down. The demand for onions was very low in July. With the MMK 2,100 per US$ exchange rate, exporters in Myawady can get profits. Two truckloads of onions I am going to sell fetch MMK 2,000, MMK 1,925 and MMK 1900 per viss. Onion prices are likely to increase depending on the demand from Bayintnaung Commodity Exchange in Yangon.”
Workers load onions onto a truck.
As onions harvested in Monywa are of higher quality than Pakokku onions, they fetch as much as MMK 2,200 per viss, according to brokerage houses and commodity exchanges.
Currently, most onion farmers from villages were selling their onions to brokerage houses in towns but some farmers were still waiting to get more than MMK 2,000 per viss, said U Kyaw Sein, an onion merchant.
U Kyaw Sein told the CNI, “Myanmar is in a shortage of one month’s consumption of onions before the new harvest. When onions are in short supply, prices are likely to rise a little. Most of the onions entering the market are from farmers in villages. Those who store onions in towns are still waiting to get higher prices. I think they will sell their onions when prices rise to nearly MMK2,000 per viss.”
During the last two years, onion farmers and merchants suffered losses due to political situation and COVID and they had to sell their onions at MMK 100 per viss.
Bayintnaung Commodity Exchange in Yangon.
U Hla Thaung said that merchants who stored onions would sell their onions as it was profitable for them.
“Onion merchants will not suffer losses at current onion prices. It cost them about MMK 1,000 to store a viss of onions including labour and storage costs and damage losses. So, they can sell their onion at prices above MMK 1,700 per viss but some of them are still waiting to get as much as MMK 2,000 per viss. As they suffered losses for two consecutive years, a large volume of onions will enter the market at MMK 2,000 per viss,” U Hla Thaung told the CNI.
Merchants guessed that onion prices would further rise. However, commodity prices tend to change based on prices in Bayintnaung Commodity Exchange.
On 8th August in Bayintnaung Commodity Exchange, Monywa onions fetched as much as MMK 2,200 per viss while the prices of those from other regions stood between MMK 1,450 and MMK 2,000 per viss.
