Dried coconuts in short supply and fetching good prices in Arakan State

By Admin 15 Aug 2023

DMG Newsroom
15 August 2023, Sittwe

Coconuts are in short supply as Cyclone Mocha blew down thousands of coconut trees in northern Arakan State, and dried coconuts are being bought from Thandwe, Kyaukphyu and Manaung townships at a good price, according to coconut dealers.

“Coconuts are scarce because thousands of coconut trees were destroyed by the cyclonic storm. … Merchants from Thandwe and Manaung are buying coconuts at a good price,” said Daw Than Than, a coconut dealer in the Arakan State capital Sittwe.

“Previously, we ordered coconuts from Pauktaw Township. The sale of coconut is not good as many coconut trees were destroyed by the storm,” said a local woman selling coconuts in Sittwe.

Sittwe, Pauktaw and Rathedaung townships in northern Arakan State are considered good coconut-producing areas. But due to Cyclone Mocha, coconut dealers there have had to order coconuts from southern Arakan State.

“A coconut was sold for around 200 in the past. The price has almost doubled from K200 per piece to around K500 without transportation charges. The coconut plantations were damaged by the storm, so coconuts fetched a good price,” said Ko Maung Gyi, a coconut dealer in Kyaukphyu.

Coconuts grown in Arakan State were exported to Bangladesh and fetched a good price, but since June this year, the import of coconuts has been limited, so the coconuts are only sold locally.

Daw Ma Chay, who sells traditional foods at Shwepyar bazaar in Sittwe, said that with the rising price of coconuts, traditional snack businesses using coconuts are not cost-effective.

“The commodity prices are skyrocketing. A coconut is sold for K2,000 and a bottle of cooking oil is around K5,000. I sell a piece of traditional bread for K200, but I don’t get a profit. If I sell a piece of traditional bread for K250, the buyers complain. I don’t know how to deal with this problem,” she added.

Some 4,000 acres of crops in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun and Minbya Township were destroyed by Cyclone Mocha, which made landfall with destructive force on May 14. Arakanese people have since had to buy and consume produce and other agricultural products from mainland Myanmar at higher prices.