APPLE prices should decrease further in coming weeks as more produce from China enters the local market, fruiterers at Thiri Mingalar Grocery Wholesale Market in Yangon said last week.

“Taw kyut variety apples from China are now coming into the market and replacing stocks from Thailand,” said U Myint Than, the owner of Zay Kabar Fruiterer at Thiri Mingalar market.

Apples from China usually begin to appear in Yangon markets in early August and disappear in March, whereas those from Thailand are sold here from April to August.

Although apples from Thailand, mainly fuji apples, are said to be tastier and look better, in terms of price they cannot compete with apples from China in the Yangon market, U Myint Than said.

A 22-kilogram carton from Thailand, which contains about 75-100 pieces, costs about K35,000, while a 28kg carton of Chinese-grown taw kyut apples costs from K17,000-21,000 and contains between 180 to 250 pieces.

Prices have already begun dropping and U Myint Than said this was having a positive effect on sales.

“We are now selling apples much faster than two or three months ago and this is because the cheaper Chinese apples are coming into the market,” he said.

The cheaper Chinese apples are popular with Yangon retailers because they are much easier to sell to customers, said U Naing Linn, a fruiterer at the wholesale market. Chinese apples sell for K1500-2000 per ten pieces in the retail market, he said.

The market though is not just based on price, U Naing Linn said, and some varieties of Chinese-grown apples are more popular with retailers and customers than others.

Red-coloured nga myaung apples, which began arriving at the market in the first week of August, cost just K13,000-17,000 for a 27kg carton containing about 200 pieces. While this variety is the cheapest, many retailers shun them because they only last four or five days after arriving in the market.

Yellow apples, which began arriving from China in the second week of August, cost K16,500 for a 26kg carton of 180-190 pieces.

The yellow variety arrives at the market green but gradually turns yellow over a period of a few days, which gives retailers longer to sell them – generally seven to 10 days.

But yellow apples are not as popular with customers because of their colour and taste, which U Naing Linn describes as a mixture of sweet and sour.

The dominant variety of Chinese apples is taw kyut and fruiterers said that, from the first weeks of September, all other Thai and Chinese varieties would begin to disappear as taw kyut became more prominent.

Taw kyut apples arrive at Thiri Mingalar green in colour but gradually turn red-brown and finally red, lasting for seven to ten days.