Onion price reached above K2,400 per viss on 5 August for the first time this year in Yangon market, Ko Swe who buys commodities at Bayintnaung market for resale in Nyaungpinlay market, told the Global New Light of Myanmar.
With an influx of 90,000 visses of onions that day, the prices moved in the range between K1,800 and K2,400 per viss.
Last week, the prices hit K2,200-2,350 per viss in the Yangon market.
The prevailing price of K2,400 is the highest after a price drop in the past three months.
Myanmar aims to achieve onion export of 100,000 tonnes in the 2023-2024 financial year, according to official data.
The country plans to export 30,000 tonnes of onions in Q1, 15,000 in Q2, 20,000 in Q3 and 35,000 in Q4 respectively.
The demand is usually high in Q1. The buyers tend to observe the market in Q2 and Q3. With the supply of monsoon onion, there’s a large stockpile in Q4.
Myanmar has a competitive market for garlic and potato as they’re imported.
Similarly, when the onion price moves up in the domestic market, the foreign traders dump the onions at lower prices, Ko Aye Win shared his opinion.
A robust foreign demand drove the onion prices to K3,700 per viss in 2015 and 2019 and K4,900-5,100 in early December 2022. — TWA/EM
