a further twenty-two tonnes of organic chilies, planted by the Pioneer Star Company in Mandalay Region, will be exported to Singapore, the company has told Myitmakha News Agency.
The second consignment of chilies to be sent to the global financial center reportedly comes after the inaugural two-tonne batch was found to be devoid of chemicals and harmful pesticides.
“Singapore has requested a further consignment of our chilies from our test-field site. The chilies grown on our site are categorized into three — A, B and C — dependent upon their quality, with only chilies from category A being exported. As well as the first batch of chilies coming up clean from traces of chemicals, their fine quality has got Singapore to request them to be exported all year round,” said Kyaw Soe Thu, a staffer from the Pioneer Star Company.
A viss (1.6 kilograms) of the organic chilies fetch K600 on the domestic market, while reportedly costing K520 for export minus transportation charges.
“I’ve been growing chilies for a long time, and it’s only now that we’re starting to export them abroad. The domestic chili market is good, adding that with the opening up of a foreign market, we have two sources of revenue. We’re going to expand our chilies crops starting from this month,” said Win Naing Htun, an organic chili grower from Mandalay Region’s Saingmarlan village.
Citing difficulties in educating each chili farmer on organic cultivation methods, the Pioneer Star Company began its operations small, partnering with a select-few regional farmers to experiment cultivation on a test plot of land.
Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar
