PRICES for handmade bricks have increased in Yangon this rainy season due to strong demand, higher transportation costs and dwindling supplies, Yangon brick wholesalers said last week, predicting prices would stay up for the rest of the year.

“Prices are high compared to last rainy season, when (handmade) bricks cost about K44 each. Now they are K54 and are expected to remain high until the end of December,” U Than Aung, general manager of Daw Ngwe Win and Sons construction materials shop in Mingalar Taung Nyunt township, said on October 15.

Yangon gets most of its handmade bricks used by the construction sector from manufacturers in Bago Division, who hurriedly produce bricks in the dry months to cover for rainy season, when production becomes much more difficult for those relying on rudimentary earth kilns to bake bricks.

Diminishing stocks from last summer are keeping prices high, traders said.
“Unlike machine-made bricks, which you can get from within Yangon, handmade bricks are mostly made in Bago Division. In rainy season, road conditions are not so good and some cars can’t get to the manufacturing centres. This puts transportation costs up to about K12 per brick,” U Than Aung said, adding this was about K5 more than last year.

Daw Cho, owner of the ATA brick shop in South Dagon township, said prices of handmade bricks had the potential to keep rising.

“Currently, they cost about K55 each but there is still a chance for them to rise to K60. Developers prefer handmade bricks to machine-made ones because they are not so brittle and they're K15-20 cheaper,” Daw Cho said.

Handmade bricks account for about 80pc of those used in Yangon, according to U Than Aung.

Machine-made bricks usually have a smoother appearance and are therefore used mainly for decorative purposes, traders said.