December 09

 

The price of newly harvested monsoon paddy 2022 dipped at the end of the first week of December.

 

The prices of new monsoon paddy (Thuka variety) gained K1,340,000 per 100 baskets (50 pounds per basket) in the previous days. On 7 December, it slid to K1,320,000 per 100 baskets, according to price data of a rice mill in Kyungon village in Wakema Township.

 

The paddy price was estimated at K1.3 million per 100 baskets in end-November and then, it climbed to K1,340,000 per 100 baskets. At present, the price of the Ayeyapadetha paddy variety was K1,350,000 in mid-November. It rose to K1.41 million per 100 baskets at the end of November. On 7 December, the price showed a decrease of K10,000 compared to last month’s rate.

 

Nonetheless, the prices of Pawsan paddy hovers gained at K1,675,000 per 100 baskets (52 pounds in a basket) in early December, which soared from K1.6 million. The large rice mill in the delta region shared the small decrease in paddy and rice prices these days on social media.

 

It has been three months since the new monsoon paddy entered markets. The majority of the monsoon paddies have been harvested. Stocks of other farmers working on a manageable scale are sold out. At present, the stocks are in possession of only those growers working on a large scale and traders.

 

The new paddy prices this year reached a record high of last year’s price when those traders who kept the stocks resold them.

 

The traders are not certain about profitability like last year. The current price decline raised concerns of the traders, U Khin Maung Htay, a rice trader from Pyapon Township, told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).

 

Traders who keep the paddy stocks in their hands are monitoring the prices of low-grade paddy at the harvest of summer paddy. The prices of low-grade rice and broken rice are positively related to the foreign exchange rate and export price.

 

The Kyat against the US dollar is valued at approximately K2,800 in the first week of December. The export prices are K42,300-43,800 per bag of low-grade rice and K39,200-41,000 per bag of broken rice said a trader involved at Bayintnaung wholesale market.

 

The rice prices and market conditions of the top exporting countries (India, Thailand and Viet Nam) influenced Myanmar’s rice market to a certain extent. The export price of Myanmar’s rice is a bit lower than that of India. The old Pawsan rice flooded the Yangon markets in mid-November. The price seemed to increase yet the market slowed down in the first week of December.

 

The price of new Pawsan rice is K10,000 higher than that recorded in the same period last year. This year, high prices prompted the dealers to ramp up the milling process of paddy. The prices of Pawsan rice from various regions were up by K5,000 respectively. Old Pawsan rice from the Shwebo area is K30,000 higher than the new one. – TWA/EMM