High-quality rice prices up
September 6 - 12, 2010
A paddy farmer in Bago Region harvests the crop. Pic: Kaung Htet
HIGH-QUALITY pawsan rice risen in price by K1000 a bag (49 kilograms or 108 pounds), but the sales volume is slowing, said the owners of rice warehouses at Bayintnaung Wholesale Commodity Exchange Centre last week.
The price rise is the result of a reduction in supply to Yangon compared with last month, sources say.
“The supply of pawsan entering the city is 5000 bags a day, down from more than 10,000 bags last month,” said one trader.
A bag of pawsan rice is selling for K30,000 in Pyapon, Ayeyarwady Region, and K31,500 in Shwebo, Sagaing Region, compared to K29,000-K30,000 last month at the Bayintnaung centre.
U Kyaw, the owner of a rice shop in Kamaryut township, said 1 pyi of milled pawsan (about 2.13kg or 4.69 pounds) was also up from K1250 to K1350 retail.
A hundred baskets (one basket weighs 46lb or 20.86kg) of pawsan paddy now costs about K700,000, compared to the usual price of K600,000, she said.
Meanwhile, the price of low-quality ehmeta rice is stable because it is not exported, say warehouse owners. A bag of ehmeta costs K19,000.
U Aung Myint, a rice exporter at Aung Trading, said that his company had not been exporting because of a fall in international prices. Ehmeta (25-percent broken) rice is selling for between US$310-$320 a tonne FOB, he said.
