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Yangon Weather Forecast, Burma

Commodity prices show generally downward trend

COMMODITY prices show a general drift downwards as the year ends, reflecting the usual seasonal trends over the past year, with price instability in some items as the new harvest comes on the market, Yangon traders say.

Low-quality rice, garlic, peanut oil and sugar all rose in price at the end of the year, onion prices were volatile, and high-quality rice, palm oil and sesame oil prices are down compared to a year ago, according to the sources.

The price of low-quality rice started to rise in early September in response to export demand. As of early December stockpiles were low, but customers are starting to buy the new harvest, say Bayintnaung warehouse owners.

A 49-kilogram (about 108 pounds) bag of high-quality rice goes for K23,000, compared to K30,000 last December, said a spokesperson for Shwe War Mandaing warehouse.

Newly harvested rice of both in high- and low-quality is selling well, at the rate of 200-300 bags a day, because of the cheap price, said the Shwe War Mandaing spokesperson, and will soon be sold out.

Over the past two months, onion prices have been unstable as buyers await the new cultivation due early in January, said an official from the Myanmar Onion, Garlic and Culinary Crops Production and Exporting Association.

“Prices are unsteady because this is when the old stockpile runs short, but the new cultivation has not come out in large quantities yet,” he said.

Garlic prices are a little up in this week, possibly the result of market manipulation in advance of the arrival of new cultivation in March and April, he added.

Palm oil prices change daily with the value of the US dollar, but are drifting downwards as the year draws to a close, according to a spokesperson for the Taw Win Htun palm oil shop in Bayintnaung.

Sesame oil prices have receded from an August high of K72,000 per 45-viss bag (about 72kg or 162 pounds) to K69,000, while peanut oil increased in early December.

“Peanut prices have gradually increased since October because of cross-border demand from China and Thailand,” said the owner of a peanut oil shop in Bayintnaung. A viss of peanuts used for oil has risen from K1250 to K1475 during that period.

Sugar has fallen back from its late-October high of K1080 per viss to K950 as domestic consumption fell this year, according to a spokesperson for a sugar warehouse in Bayintnaung. Traders say cultivators avoided sugarcane this year because of an oversupply last year, helping to push the price of high-quality sugarcane up to K1100 per viss, against last year’s K800.

Commodity prices:
Rice: Newly harvested rice is K18, 000 a bag (about 49 kilograms or 108 pounds) for high-quality rice, up from K17,500 last week, and K11,500 for low-quality, up from K10,500.

The high quality rice (old harvested) price in early October was K25,000 end with K23,000 in December while the low quality price up K17,500 before the stockpile shortage from the price of K16,500

Peanut oil: K3300 per viss, up since the first week of December from K3000
Sesame oil: Cool at K3300 for high quality, K3000 for standard quality
Palm oil: Started at about K1700 early this year, hit a high of K2300 in early August, returned to K1700 in December.
Onions: K800 per viss for high quality early this year, rising to K1250 mid-July before hitting October-November high of K1350, now K1300 for high quality and K850 for low quality.

Garlic: K3500 a viss for high quality in early December, increased from K3000, K2300 for low-quality, increased from K2000.

Sugar: Increased to K1100 per viss for high quality since early August from K800, low quality is K900.