Last year, we were one of two Myanmar companies chosen to ... · Nonetheless, the climate does have...
Transcript of Last year, we were one of two Myanmar companies chosen to ... · Nonetheless, the climate does have...
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The company has also sought to introduce its wines to foreign markets. “Last year, we were one of two Myanmar companies chosen to participate in an ASEAN exhibition in South Korea and I think we’ve got a good chance of being selected this year to go to Japan,” Mr Raynal says.
The difficulties of making wine in the tropics appear to be a thing of the past, with wineries now relatively widespread in Thailand and India. There’s even a rival establishment, Aythaya Wines, not far up the road from Nyaungshwe to Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, that professes to be Myanmar’s first international-standard winery.
Nonetheless, the climate does have a significant impact on the production cycle, Mr Raynal says. “There’s no real winter, so no dormancy period, and there’s two grape cycles a year. We only keep the grapes grown during the dry season, which are harvested in February,” he says.
The grapes that grow in rainy season don’t receive enough sunlight and are thrown away. “We tried to make wine with them one year as a test, but it wasn’t good enough, and we found it reduced the quality of the next batch.”
With almost 75 hectares
in total and state-of-the-art winemaking facilities, there appears to be just one thing holding Red Mountain back: an almost non-existent local market.
The cavernous winery is lined with steel tanks, but not all are full. Some contain wine from 2010, while others hold wine from 2009 that is just waiting to be bottled.
The problem, Mr Raynal says, is one of economics. “This is a very big investment. We’ve got equipment imported from Italy, and the vines have come from France and Spain. But the market in Myanmar is still quite small. Wine is relatively expensive; most people here can’t afford it.”
Nevertheless, Mr Raynal says production is expected to expand in 2011 from 70,000 bottles last year, with higher yield from the maturing red vines at the Myay Phyu site. Partly, the winery is encouraged by the improving state of Myanmar’s tourism industry. After a series of setbacks in 2007 and 2008, arrival figures have bounced back considerably and the country welcomed more than 200,000 tourists in 2009. Inle Lake, along with Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan, is considered one of the country’s “big four” attractions, and perhaps the most reliant on international travellers. After taking a boat on the lake, those not interested in trekking to nearby ethnic villages are often left with little to do, and the winery is open daily to curious travellers.
“ Last year, we were one of two Myanmar companies chosen to participate in an ASEAN exhibition in South Korea and I think we’ve got a good chance of being selected this year to go to Japan.
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“The past few years there have been very few tourists but the situation started to improve last year,” Mr Raynal says. “It’s a really strong market for us because Western travellers in particular want to try local wine at least once while they are here. They usually choose us over a wine from Bordeaux or Australia because they can drink those any time at home.”
Western travellers in particular want to try local wine at least once while they are here. They usually choose us over a wine from Bordeaux or Australia because they can drink those any time at home.
“
Ultimately though, Mr Raynal says, the winery’s future lies with local consumers rather than the unpredictable tourist trade.
“If you look at most developing countries, when the economy picks up, people shift from beer and whiskey to wine. It’s happening in China and India and we expect it to happen in Myanmar too.”
Passengers referring to this ad will be eligible for free transportation and 10% discount on any purchase.
No. 527 New University Avenue, Bahan Township, Yangon 11201, Myanmar.Tel: + 95 1 549 612 Fax: + 95 1 545 770
E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.manawmayagems.comMondays to Saturdays 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, by appointment only on Sundays and Public holidays.
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I n 1985, U Hla Myint was confronted with a problem. His 22-year-old daughter,
Ma Htay Htay, was suffering badly from menstrual pains. But instead of seeking
conventional treatment, U Hla Myint hit the books and studied traditional medicine.
“I wanted to cure my daughter,” recalls U Hla Myint, now 78. Motherless from just
one month of age – and fatherless from 14 – U Hla Myint had worked a variety of
jobs, from hauling bunches of bananas for two kyats an hour in his native village near
Zalun township, Ayeyarwady Region, to setting type at the Yan Naing Printing House in
Yangon. But before 1985, he’d never been a professional medicine man.
Traditional medicine still commands respect in Myanmar. On the streets of Yangon,
vendors sell roots for treating acne and seeds to cure cancer. Honeys that promise to
act as everything from memory aids to aphrodisiacs are sold on pharmacy shelves next
to packets of paracetamol. Anti-malarial wine is available in bottle stores, and many of
Yangon’s prominent politicians and captains of industry often treat themselves to – and
with – acupuncture therapy.
Traditional medicine:East beats West
Words by Kyle Sherer
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And roughly a century ago, the
holy grail of Asian traditional
medicine – Tiger Balm –
was developed in Yangon.
Concocted by a Chinese
herbalist who lived near
Kandawgyi Lake, the original
Tiger Balm factory operated on
the site where the Chatrium
Hotel now sits.
According to Ministry of
Health training books,
traditional medication is based
on four principles: Dasana
naya (teaching of the Buddha);
Bayisa naya (anatomy); Nakata
naya (astrology); and Vizadaya
naya (the mundane world and
supra mundane world).
However, U Hla Myint was not
unacquainted with the world
of traditional medicine when
he decided to enter the field to
help his daughter.
“I have been familiar with
traditional medicine since I
was a little boy,” he says.
“My great grandfather was a
master healer. He could sense
patients’ pain from afar. He
was famous for healing stroke
victims, and treating people
with leprosy for their pain.
They called him ‘the healer
from the heavens’.
“I have been studying
traditional medicine my whole
life. I self-studied by reading
books and treatises, and then
took three 12-week courses in
1978.”
The result of his studying was
Kathy Pan – a homemade
tablet with 22 ingredients
sourced from native barks,
plants and weeds. He gave it
to his daughter and it helped
alleviate her pain. But U Hla
Myint didn’t stop there. “After
she was better, I wanted to
share the solution with my
friends,” he says. And after
two years of experimentation,
which saw the product tested
and changed, and feedback
was given by trusted friends,
U Hla Myint formed the
Kathy Pan medicine company
and began to distribute his
products. News spread slowly
at first, via word of mouth, and
production was limited by the
company’s hand-crank tablet
press, but the medicine grew
in popularity.
“We started in 1987 with
hand-made tablets. By 1994,
advertising made [Kathy Pan]
more and more popular. In
2000, we got a new machine
that let us make larger
quantities of medicine,” says
U Hla Myint.
Today the Kathy Pan Medicine
company, run by Daw Htay
Htay since 2005, exports six
types of traditional medicine
to Singapore, where they are
shipped to countries including
Malaysia, Thailand, Japan,
and Australia. The company’s
factory, which employs 50
people, produces four to
five tonnes of medicine a
month, all made from natural
ingredients.
“In my opinion, Western
medicine is very chemical,”
says U Hla Myint. “[Whereas]
traditional medicine is very
natural. It’s wholesome.”
Daw Htay Htay says Myanmar’s
traditional medicine is similar
to products found in other
countries in the region.
“We use the same chemicals,
the same products, the same
basic ingredients. But the
manufacturing process is
different,” she says.
“Myanmar traditional medicine
is mainly powders and capsules,
rather than liquids. We [also]
work with older machinery.”
Kathy Pan sells for K1080 a
“ Traditional medication is based on four principles: Dasana naya (teaching of the Buddha); Bayisa naya (anatomy); Nakata naya (astrology); and Vizadaya naya (the mundane world and supra mundane world).
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“
box and is marketed as a tonic
and pain reliever for women,
with the packaging showing
a young, smiling girl with a
flower in her hair. But while the
medicine gave the company
its name and its start, over
the years the company’s other
products have overtaken it in
popularity. “We have medicine
for pain relief in children,
for tension headaches, for
cramps, for reducing obesity,”
says Daw Htay Htay.
“The best seller used to be
the one for children, but it has
been overtaken this year by
the one that reduces obesity.
Nowadays, people are getting
fatter, and they need this
medicine for their lifestyle.”
But changing lifestyles also
have negative effects on the
traditional medicine industry,
as people increasingly turn to
Western medicine for health
solutions.
“People now want to do
things the easy way,” says U
Hla Myint. “If they feel pain
they don’t want to know about
the source of their pain, about
the cause and effect. They just
want a painkiller.”
Daw Htay Htay said that
there has also been a gradual
reduction in the number
of traditional medicine
practitioners.
“You can’t study alone,” she
says. “You have to work with a
teacher. And teachers are rare.
There’s only a few people left
who know the art.
“I want to teach a new
generation. [But now] it’s very
rare to find people interested
in traditional medicine. It’s just
handed down from generation
to generation.”
Nevertheless, U Hla Myint
says there will always be a
market for traditional medicine
in Myanmar.
“There is a very constant
type of consumer,” he
says, “one who will always
be strongly committed to
traditional medicine. Even
though Western medicines are
becoming [more popular], a
certain type of person will cling
People now want to do things the easy way. If they feel pain they don’t want to know about the source of their pain, about the cause and effect. They just want a painkiller.
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to traditional medicine, and I
make my products for them.”
Also tapping that market is
Fame Pharmaceuticals – a
Yangon-based company
established in 1994, which
exports traditional medicine to
countries including Singapore,
South Korea and Japan.
Foremost in Fame’s arsenal is
its line of nine types of honey
that are each infused with
traditional herbs and roots.
Noni honey, marketed as a
“cancer prevention” product,
also promises general pain
relief and a “euphoric” effect.
Licorice honey is designed to
treat peptic ulcers, flatulence
and hyperacidity. Asparagus
honey is a “tonic” and
Propolis honey is used in
some Myanmar hospitals as a
wound dressing.
Fame also has a “LadyMax”
line of traditional medicine
aimed at women, including
LadyMax Breast Enlargement
cream and LadyMax
Depigmentation cream,
which is made with aloe
vera, avocado, pineapple and
licorice, and promises to fade
freckles and whiten skin.
But outside of the factories
and workshops of the big
companies, many traditional
practitioners are content to
ply their trade in small villages,
or in street side stalls, just as
their ancestors did.
U Than Win sells natural
medicine every day on Bogyoke
Aung San Road in downtown
Yangon, laying out his products
on a small white tarp.
He buys the roots and seeds
from a larger merchant and
resells them to his clients
at a mark-up that’s so small
on some days he barely has
enough money for a taxi ride
home. He says that many of
his customers are regulars,
and that he never fails to
recognise them – or their
previous ailments.
“I’m not worried about any
side-effects [from traditional
medicine],” he says. “I trust in
the books.”
But outside of the factories and workshops of the big companies, many traditional practitioners are content to ply their trade in small villages, or in street side stalls, just as their ancestors did.
“