Workers transport rice to truck in Yangon, Myanmar. (Photo: AFP/VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – President of the Myanmar RiceFederation (MRF) Ye Min Aung said that the tightening in global supply shouldhelp revive Myanmar’s rice shipments, which slumped 56% inthe first four months of the fiscal year, and bring it closer to its annualgoal of earning 1 billion USD from exports of the grain.
According to MRF, from April to July this year, Myanmarexported nearly 320,000 tonnes of rice clocking only 138 million USD after thegovernment decided to prioritise selling higher-grade rice.
However, prospects for its rice exports improved last monthwhen India, the world’s top exporter, banned a substantial portion of itsoverseas sales to keep a lid on domestic prices. That’s pushed up rice pricesin countries in the region to a record high in the last 15 years.
According to MRF President, Myanmar hopes to take advantage,even though it will maintain its focus on exporting only higher-qualityvarieties.
Although sales of high-quality rice can bring in 700 USD pertonne compared to 300-400 USD per tonne for low-quality rice, this measure alsolimits the number of customers from rich countries.
According to MRF, in the past two financial years, Myanmarearned about 800 million USD a year from rice exports, and its largest partnerswere China, the Philippines, and Belgium. The US ranked Myanmar as the sixthlargest rice exporter in the world last year./.
