Speaking during a sitting of the Yangon Region parliament on October 12, U Han Htun, Yangon Region minister for agriculture, livestock, forestry and energy, said research was needed to understand the steep increases in market prices for the meat.Rising commodity prices are linked to one another, so we need to find out what the main factors driving the increasing prices, he said. Although, if prices are falling this may have an impact on the livelihood of the fishermen. U Hnin Oo, chair of the Myanmar Crab and Fishery Association, said that the Myanmar Fisheries Federation is trying to address some of the factors that are leading to price hikes, like poor infrastructure, volatile exchange rate and depleting fish stock.Farm gate prices for fish were not so high, he said; it was at the market where the premium was being added.The difference is more than double between the fish farm gate prices and market prices, he said. For example, if 1 viss [1.6kg or 3.6 pounds] of a certain type of fish costs K3000 then it is more than K6000 by the time it gets to the market. Meanwhile, income from fish exports to October has already surpassed the value achieved last financial year by more than US$28 million, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce. From April to October this year, income from fish exports has reached close to $237 million, while for the entirety of last financial year fish export income totalled $208 million, the figures show.
2016 The Myanmar Times.