A worker at Kama shop in South Dagon township checks the quality of palm leaves sourced from Mawlamyine. Pic: Juliet Shwe Gaung

THE Ayeyarwady Delta is slowly rebuilding following Cyclone Nargis last May and this month is expected to see another important step in that recovery – the reintroduction of palm leaf matting made using nipa palms into Yangon’s markets.

U Myat Min Tun, the owner of the Kama shop that sells bamboo and palm leaf roofing products from seven branches in South Dagon township, said the matting – usually used as roofing – from the Ayeyarwady Delta should be available soon.

“The palm leaf roofing supplies from the delta region will become available in the market after this month; most of the wholesale shops are planning to sell this material,” he said.

Of course, the palm matting never exactly disappeared – it was just replaced by matting from Mawlamyine. However, the wholesalers said this product was of a lower quality than that produced in Bogale, Hlaingbone, Labutta and Pathein.

“The best palm leaf matting comes from Hlaingbone and Pathein townships and will soon be available at shops but the quality won’t be as high as what you could get before Cyclone Nargis.

“Currently all the shops in Yangon are selling matting from Mawlamyine, which is cheaper per panel but not as good.

“Before the cyclone there was almost no demand for the Mawlamyine matting,” he said.

U Myat Min Tun said the marginally more expensive Ayeyarwady-sourced matting was actually a smarter buy because it lasts a lot longer and is physically larger.

“Matting from Hlaing-bone and Bogale can last up to two years, while that from Pathein can stay good for one year. But roofs made using the Mawlamyine matting only last five months because the bugs eat it,” he said, adding that Ayeyarwady matting uses less leaves because they are larger, meaning it is more water proof.

U Myat Min Tun said the Mawlamyine-sourced panels are 3 feet long and 16 inches wide, compared to 4.5 feet and 18 inches. This gives surface areas of 576 square inches and 972 square inches respectively.

“People buy it [the Mawlamyine matting] because it’s cheap, not because it is high quality but the sheets are smaller, so you have to use more of them to roof a house,” he said.

The Mawlamyine panels are K50 each, while those from Bogale or Hlaingbone are K55 and those from Pathein are K68. It’s a K5 or K18 saving that is easily offset by a surface area nearly 70 percent larger.

Shops usually stock up on palm leaf matting materials before April, for sales during the rainy season, said U Myat Min Tun.

U Aung Myint, the general secretary of the Renewable Energy Association Myanmar, said Yangon is a big market for these materials.

“We made an assessment on matting made from nipa palms in rural areas and discovered that people really need this material. That demand is replicated in Yangon too and the matting is also exported to Bangladesh and India, so the market for it is really large,” he said.