29 July
MYANMAR’S maritime trade constituted over 85 per cent of rice exports and generated an estimated income of US$572.58 million as of 10 July in the current fiscal year 2019-2020, as per data from Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).
The figures reflect an increase of $181.96 million compared with a year-ago period.
Earlier, border trade was relatively high compared to sea trade in terms of rice exports. Since the previous financial year, border trade has dropped, and currently, it accounts for just 14.8 per cent of the total rice exports. Rice exports through the border gates have generated an estimated $93.6 million in the current financial year, which plunged from $171.5 million registered in the corresponding period of last year.
Myanmar primarily exports rice to China through the border gates. However, trade in agricultural products has been halted on account of China clamping down on illegal trade and China’s precautionary measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.
With the growing demand from foreign countries, the export price of rice is up by $10-15 per tonne in recent day. However, it is difficult to ship rice in the rainy season, said traders from Bayintnaung market.
The volume of rice and broken rice exported between 1 October and 10 July in 2019-2020 fiscal year has been estimated at over 2.2 million metric tonnes, worth over $666 million, according to an announcement from the MRF.
The export volume is up by 360,000 tonnes, while the value showed an increase of $100 million compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
In the current financial year, Myanmar has shipped rice to 66 foreign markets.
China is the main buyer of Myanmar rice, followed by Malaysia and Madagascar. The Philippines is the fourth-largest buyer and Cote D’Ivoire the fifth-largest buyer of Myanmar rice. The European Union countries account for over 20 per cent of rice exports, while 30.56 per cent of rice grown in Myanmar goes to African countries.
In the current fiscal, Myanmar has exported broken rice mostly to Belgium, followed by Senegal, China, Indonesia and the Netherlands. Broken rice has been placed in 58 foreign markets.
Myanmar shipped 3.6 million tonnes of rice in the 2017- 2018 fiscal year, which was an all-time record in rice exports. The export volume plunged to 2.29 million tonnes, worth $691 million, in the 2018-2019FY.
GNLM (Translated by Ei Myat Mon)
