The price of fuel pellets, an alternative to firewood and charcoal, has nearly doubled since last summer, according to fire pellet producers and sellers in Magway.
Last summer, a bag of 40 pellets cost 4,500 kyats, but this rainy season, the price is 8,000 kyats.
Producers and sellers said that as fuel pellets were produced by drying in the sun, they can work well in the summer and winter only and have to stop working during the rainy season. The fuel pellet market is rising because of a decrease in production and a rise in the price of raw materials, said U Aung Ko Lat, a fuel pellet producer in Magway.
The fuel pellets are made by mixing charcoal and sawdust with clay, and each pellet burns for about one and half hours. The fuel pellets produced in the Magway region are mainly delivered to Yangon but are also delivered to regional towns such as Yenangyaung, Chauk, Kyaukpadaung and Natmauk. In Magway, fuel pellet sales are said to be more brisk during the rainy season than the dry season.
