YANGON Region has exceeded its target for cultivating monsoon chilli (Hmyarni variety). A total of 211 acres had been targeted for cultivation in Hlegu and Taikkyi townships, but by the first week of August, farmers had already planted 257 acres, according to the Yangon Region Department of Agriculture.

Yangon mainly depends on chilli supplies from Upper Myanmar and the hilly regions. To ensure consumers have access to chillies at affordable prices while generating income for farmers, fresh chillies are cultivated during the rainy season, while both fresh and dried chillies are produced in the cool season. Rainy-season chillies yield about 570 viss per acre, and the fresh produce is sold directly at the Thiri Mingala Market.

The Hmyarni chilli variety takes just over three months to mature and can be harvested continuously for about two months. At present, fresh Hmyarni chillies are fetching around K 13,000 per viss at the Thiri Mingala Market. Chilli supplies from Upper Myanmar are also trading actively.

“We grow chillies throughout the year in Yangon Region, but cultivation is greater during the cool season. In the rainy season, cultivation is more widespread in Lower Myanmar, while during the cold season, more chillies are grown in the central dry zone. In Yangon Region, the Thai Hmyarni chilli variety is cultivated mainly in Hlegu and Taikkyi townships. It can be harvested about 100 days after planting, and fresh chilli prices are currently very favourable,” said U Myo Myint, Deputy Director of the Yangon Region Department of Agriculture.

Bayintnaung Wholesale Market in Yangon receives various chilli varieties, including rainy-season long chillies, long green chillies, bell peppers, Salin chillies, Thazi chillies, Shan chillies, Chinese bell peppers and Sinphyukyun chillies, before redistributing them to regions and states across the country. Myanmar produces approximately 150,000 tonnes of dried chillies annually, while in 2024 the country imported 902.7 tonnes of dried chillies from China, Thailand and Singapore.

During the cold season, bell peppers and long chillies are the main crops. The harvested chillies are supplied to factories in industrial zones across the country for chilli powder production and to the Yangon market. During the rainy season, farmers mainly cultivate the marketable Hmyarni chilli variety to help meet local demand in Yangon Region. Chilli production is carried out in both the rainy and cold seasons to support the region’s self-sufficiency in chilli consumption.

Thitsa (MNA)/KTZH

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