August 18
The prices of chickpea and potatoes reached the highest in three years. On 17 August 2022, wholesale prices of chickpea in Yangon markets touched a high of K4,000-4,200 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kilogrammes) and potatoes fetched K1,400-2,400 per viss depending on the varieties. The current market price is the highest compared to the corresponding periods of the past two years, said Ko Phyo, a trader who delivers goods to the delta region.
On 17 August 2021, chickpea was priced at K2,600-2,700 per viss and potatoes were worth K350-1,100 per viss. On 17 August 2020, the prices stood at K1,700-1,750 per viss of chickpea and K400-650 per viss of potato.
The local consumption of chickpea and potatoes is high. They are one of the key ingredients in Myanmar dishes, said Daw Moe Moe, a housewife.
I have to raise the potato curry price along with other meat curry prices as potato prices hit K2,000 per viss, said Daw San, a roadside food vendor.
Some substitute the pea for chickpea, said Ko Yan, a seller of pulses in Bayintnaung market.
The wholesale price of chickpea stayed below K2,000 per viss as of September 2020. The price rose to K2,250 per viss in the last four months of 2000.
In 2021, wholesale chickpea prices climbed to K2,750 per viss.
In early 2022, the price jumped to over K3,000 per viss in early 2022. The price rocketed to K4,000 per viss in mid-August 2022. The chickpeas are mostly supplied by Pyay areas, said Ko Thein, a seller from the Bayintnaung market. The price in August 2022 is two times higher than the price recorded in 2020.
The potato price was mostly below K1,000 per viss in 2020. The highest price in 2020 is K1,450 per viss on 23 September, said Ko Aung, a potato seller from the Nyaungpinlay Market.
The potato price reached the lowest of K700 in early 2021 and the highest of K2,450 per viss in late 2021. The potato was priced at K2,400 on 17 August 2022 in the wholesale market. It is the maximized price against the same periods of 2020 and 2021, said Ko Aung.
High price benefits growers yet consumers are hurting from rising food prices, Ko Naing, a market observer pointed out. — TWA/GNLM
