July 18
THE sales of pineapples produced from the Hsipaw area in the northern Shan State this year increased by two folds as against last year’s volume. The price is fetching higher as well.
The travel restrictions triggered by the COVID-19 impacts in the past years hampered the market, resulting in a price drop of K350 per piece, said Ma Yin Hun, a seller in Hsipaw Township.
“The pineapple trade is brisk this year. Last year, the coronavirus hindered transportation and the price plummeted. The price varies on the sizes. Pineapples of large size are sold out at the moment. I execute 20 acres of plantation and around 35,000 pineapples are expected to yield. I am also engaged in a digital platform to sell the pineapples beyond distributions to the wholesale and retail markets. This year, farm input costs including fuel oil prices and fertilizer went up. This being so, growers do not make a large profit despite the high price,” she elaborated.
The pineapples from Hsipaw Township are delivered to Muse, Yangon, Magway, Mandalay and lower Myanmar regions. The season starts in June and ends in September. In the beginning of the harvest season, a pineapple weighs about 1.5 viss (a viss equals 1.6 kilogrammes). Later, the weight of a pineapple is below one viss.
The price of a pineapple is estimated at K1,000 for over one viss. The small size fetches K700 and small one is priced at K500. The pineapples from Indaw and Bamao areas in Kachin State are supplied to the Mandalay market as well.— Min Htet Aung (Mandalay Sub-printing House)/GNLM
