Sugarcane growers from Myingyan Township, Mandalay Region, are earning a handsome profit this season because of a spike in prices, according to sugarcane farmers from Sanpya Village.
“We are cultivating 1,800 sugarcane plants per acre. Sugarcane can take eight months to harvest and we have to irrigate the fields once a week until harvest. The price of sugar is K3,500 or K4,000 per 10 sugarcanes. Last year, lower quality sugarcane was used to make juice, which was sold for K100 per cup. One liter of sugarcane juice was sold for K500. This year, one cup of sugarcane juice is selling for K300 and one liter of juice is fetching K700. The price of sugarcane has increased this year because of the high cost of cultivation,” said U Myint Myat Thu, a sugarcane grower from Sanpya Village.
Sugarcane is being sent to Myingyan, Kyaukse, Myittha, Mahlaing, Meiktila, Kyaukpaduang, Natmauk, Yenangyoung, Chauk, Toungoo, Nyaunglebin, Pyu, Nay Pyi Taw, and Yangon, he said.
Sugarcane is one of the major industrial crops cultivated in Myanmar. It is grown in more than half the world, including Asia and America, because of its health benefits. Sugarcane contains proteins, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and potassium, and vitamins A, B-complex, and C. — Ko Kyaw Swar (IPRD) (Translated by Hay Mar)
