Rice export sees almost two fold growth
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Myanmar's commerce ministry expects the country's rice export volume to hit 1.5 million metric tonnes, the highest in 60 years, nearly double the performance in the previous fiscal year.
More than 1.2 million metric tonnes have been exported in 10 months of fiscal 2012-13. The ministry hopes to export another 300,000 metric tonnes before the close of the fiscal year on March 31.
Myanmar’s rice exports have been down since 1956. Before that, the country exported an average of more than 1 million metric tonnes annually.
In fiscal 2011-12, Myanmar exported about 800,000 metric tonnes.
The ministry said that as of today, Myanmar had earned US$500 million (Bt15 billion) from rice exports this year and expects to earn $600 million at the end of the fiscal year.
Myanmar expects to increase its export volumes in the coming years to meet the high demand of Japanese and European buyers to whom Myanmar is exporting at the rate of $400 per tonne.
Despite the steep climb, Myanmar’s rice export volume is well below that of other countries in the region. Thailand has been exporting an average of more than 10 million metric tonnes of rice annually followed by Vietnam with 7 million tonnes a year.
