According to the market of the Angban Garlic Trading Post in southern Shan State, Myanmar, the price of garlic, one of the main products of Shan State, has been rising recently.
The two types of goods that are stable and shelf-stable in Shan State are ginger and garlic, which account for about 50% of the country's output. Recently, that is, in the early stage of the Songkran Festival, the price of garlic is rising, but only the price after the Songkran Festival can predict whether the price of garlic will rise or fall throughout the year.
The owner of a vegetable trading station in Aung Ban said that now because Songkran is approaching, demand is rising, so the price is rising. However, whether the price of garlic is good or not every year depends on the price after the Songkran Festival to be evaluated, and only then can we know whether it rises or falls. Now it may be related to the small amount of imported garlic of the "Jugou (transliteration)" variety, but there are not many people who like the imported "Jugou (transliteration)" variety of garlic, and the price of garlic will change, if the price is good after the Songkran Festival, then the price of garlic this year will be good, and then it will also depend on the situation of the Yangon Mang Ying Long cargo trading station.
It is said that the price of garlic has risen by more than 1,000 kyats at the end of March compared with February, and the current price is relatively good for farmers.
One garlic grower in Aung Ban said that although the price has risen, the price of garlic seeds has been dragged to 15,000 kyats when planting, and then the fertilizer and labor fees are high, so the current price is only to protect the capital, and only if it rises a little more, the farmers will make a profit.
At present, the purchase price of garlic at the trading station in the Aung Ban market varies according to the variety, ranging from 4,500-10,500 kyats per tick, and the price at the trading station is between 5,700-15,000 kyats per tick.
Imported garlic is a large garlic clove that is easy to peel, but it doesn't taste as fragrant as the native Burmese variety, and 7 out of 10 people don't like it, and the remaining 3 people buy it for use in the store.
In the domestic market, garlic is of the highest quality from the southern part of Shan State, followed by garlic from the northern and eastern parts of Shan State.
In addition to kitchen and restaurant use, garlic is also widely used in melon seed production factories, traditional Burmese medicine production industry, and pickled tea production industry.
In the production of hot and sour pickled tea, the tea leaves and garlic need to be mixed together to adjust the sour and hot flavor to the best pickle, and the garlic used is mainly garlic from Angban. Purple-skinned garlic is mainly used in the traditional Burmese medicine production industry.
Garlic is shelf-stable and the market is relatively stable, so farmers in southern Shan State grow garlic as one of their main crops.