Especially useful when there is no electricity, bronze irons have been selling extremely well in recent weeks at Shwedagon Pagoda. Pic: Hein Latt Aung

BRONZE and copper irons are selling like “hot cakes” in Yangon in the past two weeks as people attempt to overcome the lack of electricity and maintain their appearance, say sellers at Shwedagon Pagoda.

Bronze irons are filled with charcoal and are a traditional way to iron clothes.
“I’ve sold 10 bronze irons in this past week; they’re like hot cakes at the moment,” said the owner of Tun Yadanar bronze-wares shop at the eastern entrance.

A salesperson from the Thein Yadanar shop said pilgrims usually buy these irons while visiting the pagoda, although some people come to the most famous pagoda in Myanmar to buy them specifically.

“At the moment it’s all about the lack of electricity; bronze irons are extremely helpful to people right now,” she said, adding that the irons are bought from wholesale markets in Monywa and North Okkalapa.

“But the wholesalers have just doubled their prices,” she said.
This recent price increase, she said, has left many shop owners unsure of what price they should attach to these irons.

A spokesperson for Myint bronze-ware shop – also at Shwedagon – said that shop owners normally agree, almost like a union, to charge a set price for items like bronze irons.

“There are many shops here that sell similar irons and we can’t just set the price at whatever we want, we always agree to use a similar price for these types of items, although we may differ by K100 or K200 sometimes,” she said.

But despite the confusion over pricing, she agreed that sales have increased.
“The sales have surely increased since last month.”

Bronze irons, she said, come in two main types: Those constructed almost completely from bronze, and those that are only half bronze. Regardless of their construction, she said they come in three different sizes and two different colours.

The red-coloured irons are made in Monywa and tend to be slightly smaller their yellow equivalents, which come from North Okkalapa township in Yangon. In addition to being slightly smaller, the red versions are also cheaper.

A half-size red iron now costs about K6500, while the full-size version is about K15,000. For the bigger “yellow” irons, a half-size item starts at K10,000 and increases to K30,000 for the full version.

But the Myint shop spokesperson said: “Wholesales prices for the red irons were K3000 for the half-bronze versions but that has risen to K6000. We are now earning only K500 in profit from our iron sales,” she said.

“Most of our customers prefer the red irons because they’re smaller, which makes them more convenient to use,” said a Tun Yadana shop salesperson.