Fearing confiscation, traders remove labels on rice exports
Play
Rice traders have been exporting rice to China without brand labels to avoid inspection and possible confiscation by the Chinese authorities.
Traders in the northern border town of Muse say because Chinese authorities often suspect rice shipments from Myanmar might conceal illegal contraband or drugs, traders often resort to removing labels.
“Myanmar exports rice legally but the Chinese seize them whenever they want to catch illegal things,” said a rice trader from Muse.
“If we export the bags of rice with the brand name, the Chinese know instantly that it is being exported from Myanmar. If we don’t label them they don’t know where they come from, so the bags are not seized. We have warned each other not to export bags with a brand name,” he added.
The Ministry of Commerce is currently discussing with Chinese counterparts to allow rice exports to enter China without hassles from local authorities.
The price of rice is currently higher due to a growing demand from China and local markets, sources from rice wholesalers say.
On average more than 60,000 bags of rice produced in Ayeyawady Region enter the Wartan wholesale market daily.
The price of a high quality bag of rice is Ks 500 (about US$ 0.51) more than in previous weeks. Low quality rice is on average Ks 300 (about US$ 0.30).
“The rising price of rice is connected with the demand from China. Local retail markets are also another reason for the price increase. The rice stored in warehouses all sold out during Thingyan [Myanmar New Year] and that’s why the demand for the rice has increased,” said an official from Wartan wholesale market.
On April 25, 25,000 bags of rice was sent to the Wartan wholesale market and the price of a bag of rice varied between Ks 15,800 Ks (about US$ 16.28) and Ks 16,800 (about US$ 17.31).
According to the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Association (MRPA), Myanmar exported at least 700,000 tonnes of rice to China in the 2013-14 fiscal year. All crossed the Muse border point into China.
“Last fiscal year, Myanmar exported 1.4 million tonnes of rice,” Win Myint, the union minister for commerce, said recently.
The MRPA said that this year’s exports will be slightly lower than last year.
The Myanmar Rice Federation has also stressed a need for tangible rice policies to keep abreast of industries in neighbouring countries.
In a paper, Zaw Ye Tun of the Myanmar Rice Federation revealed that average yearly production of rice in Myanmar is 30 million tonnes since 2006 and in 2012, exports totalled 1.7-2.2 million tonnes.
“Although Myanmar was the largest rice exporter in the world before 1962, it became a smaller exporter in the SEA Region over five decades. The reasons for dwindling rice exports are many and complicated, however,” he said.
“Major reasons are low production, the decline of surprlus and poor markets. Among these reasons, low production is a major problem in the country, and it calls for immediate and critical solutions. In order to promote rice production in the country, these key areas need to be tackled by both public and private sectors.”
