Farmers growing onions along the creek in Seikhtein Village of Kyaukpaduang Township, Mandalay Region, are expecting a good harvest and better prices this year.
Growers from the village are cultivating onions on 70 acres of land along the creek. Last year, a total of 1 million viss of onions were grown in the village.
Onions are grown mostly in the month of October and December. Before sowing onions, farmers have to do grounding, composting, and sanding in advance. Local farmers are growing onions with seeds.
Last year, traders from China purchased onion seeds from farmers. Onion seeds were sold for K1-1.2 million per basket. Some local farmers earned K2.5-3 million from the sale of onion seeds. However, China is not likely to make any purchases next year, said farmers.
Farmers expect to get better prices if there is demand from other countries this year.
“We have to grow onions by ourselves because it is difficult to find labour. I have grown 20 pounds of onions at a cost of over K300,000. My onion farm is very close to the village. If the farmland is far from the village, onion cultivation costs more. If we employ labour, we have to pay an exorbitant rate. Last year, local farmers earned K2,700 per viss. We expect that onions will fetch a better price if we get demand from other countries this year,” said U Kyaw Shin, 73, the owner of an onion plantation.
Last year, onion prices had gone up because of high demand from India and Bangladesh. This time, onions are selling at K1,000-1,200 per viss. Local growers expected prices to touch K700 per viss in the earlier onion season. —Ko Nay (Kyaukpaduang)
(Translated by Hay Mar)
