COMMODITY prices were down across the board last week as new harvests meant more produce on the market. Matpe, however, continued a price rise which began mid-December, sources at Myanmar’s biggest commodity wholesale market, the Yangon’s Bayintnaung Complex, said.

Market demand as a whole was a little slow, they added.

Matpe: The prices of matpe in the first week of January increased, although demand from overseas cooled compared with the past three months when there was a regional shortage of matpe due to flooding in India, which is the main buyer of Myanmar beans and pulses.

The local market price of matpe on January 3 was K45,000 for 60 viss, up from K42,000 a week earlier.

In the export market, the price of the ready-cargo matpe was K500,500 per tonne, up from K485,000 in the second week of December. In the same period the price of the special quality ready-cargo variety increased from K530,000 to K577,500 per tonne.

“The current price of matpe is up because there is less matpe in the market, however demand has also decreased because buyers from overseas are waiting for the coming harvest. The prices will decrease in March and April as we reach harvesting time,” KB International Co., Ltd managing director U Kyaw Win said.

Toor: The price of toor on January 3 was K255,000 per tonne, a decrease from K270,000 two weeks ago, largely due to the arrival of new beans on the market from recent harvests.

Green Mung Beans: The price of green mung beans was K43,000 for 60 viss on January 3, down from K48,000 two weeks ago because of the arrival of new beans on the market.

“The price is likely to decrease more in the coming months because more harvests of toor and green mung beans just started in the last week of December,” U Kyaw Win said.

There is currently good demand for green mung beans but demand for matpe and toor was down slightly, traders said.

Gold: One tical of gold sold for K310,000 in Yangon last week, a decrease from the previous week’s price of K318,000.

One dealer put this down to “the effects of December holidays” and said he expected the price to increase in coming weeks.

Cooking oil: The wholesale price of peanut oil on January 3 was K2000 a viss, while the retail price was K2050 a viss.

“Demand has been stable at the moment,” peanut oil salesman Ko Aung Than Oo said. “The price of peanut oil started decreasing in the first week of December but the price has been stable for the past two weeks but it will likely go on decreasing in the coming months because of the arrival of newly harvested peanuts,” he said.

Onions: The price of high-quality onions on January 3 was K435 a viss. Low-quality onions were K155 a viss, both showing a decrease of about K20 from the previous week.