By Lieng Lern
February 25, 2008 (SHAN) - During the first week of this month, Hpa Kant local authorities allowed planting of cucumber after collecting taxes from farmers at Hpa Kant in Kachin State, according to a S.H.A.N reporter:
"If I knew they would permit us to grow cucumber, I wouldn't have come here. Hpa Kant is near China border so it is easy to earn money there. Now, I want to go back but I have no money for my journey. I had to spend a lot of money to come to Thailand," complained a Shan youth who used to reside in Kachin State but has moved to Fang, Chiang Mai province since 26 days ago said.
He received a phone call from his relative in Hpa Kant and they said the authorities have allowed the farmers to plant cucumbers after collection of taxes.
"They taxed Kyat 25,000 ($10) per acre, and when the cucumbers are ready to sell farmers could earn over Kyat 500,000 ($200) per acre. If farmers have nice crops they can get up to Kyat 700,000 to 1 million Kyat ($400)," he continued.
"In the past, Chinese traders would come to Hpa Kant and brought cucumber seeds with them and sold them to farmers. When the cucumbers ripened enough, Chinese businessmen came to buy from farmers. If the cucumbers are big and nice they pay higher price. The prices are depending on the quality of the cucumber but last year the authorities had banned cucumber planting," he added.
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