Reduced demand, lower quality lead to onion price decline

The onion prices plunged owing to the weak foreign and domestic demand and inflow of low-grade onion in the markets, said traders involved in Bayintnaung Commodity Centre.
The prices dropped to K2,500-2,900 per viss on 23 September from K2,65-3,150 on 19 September. Demand is quite low with 90,000 visses of onion supplies to the Bayintnaung market on 23 September.
The large onions fetched only K2,300-2,700 per viss in onion-producing areas (Seikphyu, Pakokku and Myingyan) on 23 September.
The onion price rose to K3,700 per viss on 29 August. About 60,000 visses of onions are transacted daily in the Yangon market on average, an onion depot owner from Yetama Street, Bayintnaung, told the Global New Light of Myanmar.
“This is a law of supply and demand. However, it is important to remove the spoiled onions. The market will be sluggish due to a lack of foreign demand. If supply exceeds demand, the price will decline further”, said a depot owner.
It is hard to estimate the remaining onion stocks in the market, said a trader from a region outside Yangon.
If we buy the onions at K2,500 in Seikphyu market, the prevailing market price in Yangon cannot cover the cost when we add freight cost from Seikphyu to Yangon, a seller stressed. — TWA/KK