Convert Viss/Peiktha to kilograms

A unit metrication never displaced

Myanmar is one of the few countries that never completed a transition to the metric system, and the viss is the clearest evidence. It equals 100 ticals (kyat-tha) and is officially rendered as 1.632932 kg — a precise figure derived from the tical of 16.32932 g.

The government has periodically announced metrication programmes, and metric units appear in official trade documents, but domestic markets run on viss. A shopper, a rice miller and a jade broker in Yangon or Mandalay will all quote it.

Where the number actually matters

Myanmar's jade and gemstone trade prices by viss, and large jade boulders are described by their viss weight in auction catalogues — figures in the thousands. Gold is quoted per tical and per kyat-tha in domestic jewellery shops, using the same ladder from below.

Agricultural output is reported in baskets and viss before it is reported in tonnes: a basket of paddy is conventionally 20.87 kg (about 12.8 viss), and rice trade statistics for Myanmar frequently require both conversions in sequence to reach metric tonnes.

The ladder around it

One hundred ticals make a viss; a tical is 16.32932 g and is itself divided into four mu or eight pe in gold trading. Above the viss, some trades use a "hundredweight" of 100 viss (163.29 kg) for bulk goods.

The tical name is shared with Thailand, where it referred to the baht weight of 15.244 g — close enough to invite confusion and different enough to matter in bullion. Myanmar's tical and Thailand's tical are not the same unit.

Converting Myanmar figures

Use 1.632932 kg and state it. Rounding to 1.6 kg introduces a 2% error, which on a jade lot or a rice shipment is a commercially significant sum.

For agricultural data, watch for basket-based figures: baskets differ by commodity (paddy, rice, beans all have different conventional basket weights), so a viss conversion applied to a basket figure without the commodity-specific factor will be wrong regardless of how carefully the viss itself is handled.

Myanmar market practice

The viss — peiktha in Burmese — is about 1.63 kilograms, and it remains the everyday market weight across Myanmar for rice, oil, fish, jade and gold. Prices in wet markets and commodity reports are quoted per viss, and the unit divides into a hundred kyat-tha of roughly 16.3 grams each.

Myanmar is one of the few countries that never completed metrication, so the viss is not a survival but a working standard, printed on scales and used in official agricultural reporting. The jade and gemstone trade uses the same ladder, which is why Myanmar gemstone lots are often quoted in viss where the rest of the world would use kilograms — a conversion that materially changes how a lot size reads to an outside buyer.

Cross-border trade is where the viss causes trouble. Thai and Chinese buyers quote in kilograms while Myanmar sellers quote in viss, and the 1.63 factor is often rounded to 1.6 in conversation. On a large jade or agricultural lot that two-percent rounding is a material sum, and contracts should name the unit and the factor rather than assuming either.

Common mistakes to avoid

• The Myanmar tical (16.32932 g) is not the Thai tical/baht weight (15.244 g) despite the shared English name.
• Rounding the viss to 1.6 kg understates by about 2% — material on jade and rice volumes.
• Myanmar basket weights differ by commodity; convert baskets with a commodity-specific factor before converting to viss or kilograms.

Questions people ask about the Viss/Peiktha

How many kilograms is one viss?

Exactly 1.632932 kg — about 3.6 pounds. One viss is 100 ticals of 16.32932 g each.

Is the viss still used in Myanmar?

Yes, extensively. Myanmar has not completed metrication, and produce, rice, fuel, gold and jade are all traded in viss domestically.

What is a peiktha?

Peiktha is the Burmese name for the same unit English sources call the viss — 1.632932 kg.