SALES of fuel-powered water pumps have increased by about 30 per cent in the past month in Yangon, water pump distributors said last week.

Yangon residents from several townships have begun running small water pumps off generators, resulting in increased sales.

U Maung Aye, a water pump distributor, said in the past pump sales had decreased at the beginning of the rainy season, but this year the trend has been reversed.

“This year it seems to be more difficult for people to get water so many are starting to buy pumps. The problem is that most generators are not compatible with built-in pumps, so people are starting to buy small separate ones,” U Maung Aye said.

Ma Nay Zar Kyaw Win, manager of Han Sein Thant Engineering and Trading Company, said her company has seen a 40 per cent increase on sales of high-power pumps.

“In the past, strong one horse-power KSB water pumps, have not sold well because at about K600,000 they are quite expensive, but even the more expensive brands have sold well over the past few weeks,” Ma Nay Zar Kyaw Win said.

Sales for low-cost water pumps have also increased according to a spokesperson for Tong Tah Company that sells cheap Indonesian made brands.

“Sales of Indonesian products have increased because Japanese and German made brands are too expensive for most people,” the spokesperson said.

U Maung Aye said the most popular brands on the market are imported from China, India and Indonesia as prices are competitive.

“Most cheaper brands are priced between K30,000 and K40,000. Chinese brands are usually cheaper but Indian brands are usually of better quality,” he said.

While many Yangon residents have found cheaper brands ineffective, low-cost brands are still the most popular, according to U Maung Aye.