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Heat goes out of Lao chilli price
The price of green chilli has plummeted from 70,000 kip per kg two months ago to just 8,000 kip this month at the Lao-Aussie -Europe Market in Vientiane.
Ms Noi of Lathkhouay village, Xaythany district, is one of many vendors selling home-grown vegetables at the Lao-Aussie-Europe Market. She said recently that almost every kind of vegetable is very cheap right now, including chilli, eggplant and tomatoes.
“One dozen large and small tomatoes cost 10,000 kip. A dozen eggplants cost 30,000 kip and spring onions sell for 8,000 kip per kilogramme. I've been selling one kilogramme of tomatoes for 1,000 kip.”
Ms Noi said vegetable prices start falling in November and stay low until March, as this is the time when farmers everywhere grow them in abundance. It is an ideal time for growing crops, particularly vegetables, because of the warm, dry weather.
“Prices start rising after Lao New Year in April. Growing vegetables in the wet season is difficult and they don't grow as quickly as in the dry season.”
She said the price of chilli will increase to 70,000 kip and the prices of other vegetables will also go up during the wet season. In the rainy season, one kilogramme of eggplant will cost about 12,000 kip but at present they sell for just 2,000 kip per kg. Traders can buy them at the farm for about 1,000 kip per kg.
The price of chilli grown in Laos is relatively high. Ms Noi sells it for 15,000 kip to 20,000 kip per kg, while some vendors sell Thai-grown chilli for 7,000-8,000 kip per kg.
However, at this time of the year, vegetables in general cost the same in Thailand as they do in Laos so vendors are no longer importing vegetables from Thailand.
All the vegetables that vendors sell at the market are home-grown. They come from several districts in Vientiane and the southern provinces, especially Champassak.
The Lao-Aussie-Europe Market is a wholesale market located in the Nongtaeng area on Road 13 north. It is open every day. The market can be found on the right hand side close to a petrol station.
vientiane times
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