Bayintnaung’s chilli pepper warehouses face huge stockpiles in mid- March 2024 as cold storage facilities fall short.
The prices of various chilli peppers in 2024 are lower than those registered in September 2022 and February 2023.
The prevailing prices are K6,000-K8,000 per viss of long chilli pepper and Moehtaung chilli pepper and K10,000-K11,000 per viss of bell pepper.
The prices stood at K31,000 per viss of bell pepper processed in cold storage and K18,000-K22,000 for Moehtaung and long chilli peppers processed in cold storage in late 2022, making the traders reap a handsome profit.
Yet, the majority of the traders faced losses in 2023 due to the price plunge.
Some of those chilli pepper stocks are still left in some warehouses in Bayintnaung, said a depot owner from Seinpan Street in the Bayintnaung area.
The cold storage charges are K125-K130 per viss of chilli pepper in Yangon. With chilli pepper prices dropping and the plentiful supply, cold storage facilities are full of stocks. Therefore, there is no adequate space for warehousing for now.
If chilli pepper is not stored in cold storage, the colour will fade, causing the price to decline. Prior to cold storage warehousing before 2000, the chilli peppers were stored in clay pots.
There is less chance for the price to rise this month with the abundant supply of chilli pepper, a trader told The Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM). — TWA/KK
