Mawlamyine, August (25)
After the military coup caused onion cultivation in central Myanmar to drop by almost half, the price of onions in Mon State has tripled, traders and onion growers told Than Lwin Times.
Mon State imports onions, which are an ingredient in cooking, from the upper regions such as Monywa, Taungtha, Ma Hlaing, Seikphyu and Mytthar regions.
In the final week of August, the price of onions—which was around 900 kyats per viss in June—had nearly tripled to more than 3000 kyats per viss.
The wholesale traders have less storage and can’t purchase as much as needed, which drives up the price, the dealers said.
According to an onion farmer, it will be difficult to grow the following season due to the high cost of agricultural inputs and general expenses in onion cultivation.
“The cost of oil, labor, fertilizer, and herbicides has doubled. Onion cultivation had to be reduced by half, and the farmers were struggling to make a living,” a farmer said.
Onion producers, however, assert that they are diminishing their onion production due to the high costs and losses, and they assert that they can no longer grow due to the difficulty of traveling across the conflict zones.
According to wholesale traders, Mon State used to import Chinese onions when the price of local onions increased, but they are no longer able to do so because of the increase in the value of the Chinese yuan.
News – Than Lwin Times
