Growers of avocados in Myanmar are suffering from poor prices for their crops due to poor harvesting techniques, according to an industry representative. U Myo Nyunt, deputy chair of Avocado Producers and Exporters Association: “Due to the unsystematic picking of avocados, the farmers don’t receive good prices when their crops are sold. Harvesting the avocados by hitting the branches of the trees, irregular fruit sizes due to different planting seasons different seeds used, and poor packing is leading to low prices.”
The market price for a bag of avocados is between K30,000 to K40,000 (€17.30-23.07). A 400-gram avocado harvested properly is worth K700 (€0.41) alone.
Currently, the association’s members are in the midst of replanting with high-quality seeds and there will be plenty of quality avocados in the coming year, U Myo Nyunt told. Farmers are also being taught to not let the fruit fall to the ground, to harvest them with their stalks, and sort the fruit properly according to size, species and ripeness so they can earn better prices, he said.
