With the corn market shifting, the corn price has been on a gradual decline since early January. The prevailing price reaches K1,100 per viss.
Myanmar exports corn to China and Thailand through the border and also delivers to China, India, Viet Nam and the Philippines by sea at the present time, according to the Myanmar Corn Industrial Association.
Thailand nodded corn imports under zero tariff (with Form-D), between 1 February and 31 August. However, Thailand imposes the maximum tax rate of 73 per cent on corn imports to protect the rights of their growers if the corn is imported during the corn season of Thailand.
China has been purchasing Myanmar’s corn through cross-border trade under the poppy substitution programme. Legitimate corn trade between Myanmar and China commenced at the end of 2022. A total of 112 Myanmar companies have been permitted for corn exports.
Myanmar shipped 934,883 tonnes of corn worldwide as of 29 December in the current financial year 2023-2024 beginning 1 April, bagging US$279.042 million, the Ministry of Commerce’s statistics indicated.
Myanmar delivered more than two million tonnes of corn to foreign trade partners in the 2022 corn season. The majority of them were sent to Thailand and the remaining went to China, India, the Philippines and Viet Nam.
The corn is cultivated in Shan, Kachin, Kayah and Kayin states and Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway regions. Myanmar has three corn seasons — winter, summer and monsoon. The country produces 2.5-3 million tonnes of corn every year. — NN/EM
