Myanmar exports rice to Bangladesh

By DMG 23 Dec 2022

DMG Newsroom
23 December 2022, Sittwe

Myanmar will start exporting 160,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh this month, according to the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).

Under the agreement with Bangladesh, the MRF has agreed to export 200,000 tonnes of rice to the South Asian country, said an official from the MRF.

“We are waiting for the arrival of the ship to export rice to Bangladesh. We will start exporting rice to Bangladesh this month. According to the contract between the two countries, we have to export 200,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh this month. But there is always an understanding between the buyer and the seller. If there is a delay due to various reasons, we will negotiate and ship it,” the MRF official explained.

The rice to be exported from Myanmar to Bangladesh is planned to be transported from Yangon’s Sule Port, Pathein Port in Ayeyarwaddy Region and Arakan State’s Sittwe Port.

The governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a sales contract on rice export in September, agreeing to export 200,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh in December.

According to the Arakan State Rice Millers Association, the 200,000 tonnes of rice are being purchased from regions and states under a quota system organised by the MRF, and the Arakan State Rice Millers Association has decided to sell 2,500 tonnes of rice to the MRF.

Four rice mills in Kyauktaw, one in Ponnagyun and two in Sittwe will supply export-quality rice to the MRF for export to Bangladesh and rice exports will start in January, said U Nyi Nyi Than, vice chairman of the Arakan State Rice Millers Association.

“We will sell 2,500 tonnes of rice to the MRF for the sake of local farmers, who have had to spend more on agricultural inputs due to price hikes. When this kind of rice was allowed to be exported, the farmers got a good price. We sell to the MRF at US$400 per tonne,” he explained.

“Purchasing rice from Arakan State can improve the rice market for farmers, but there is also concern that the domestic rice market price will increase and become insufficient,” said a local veteran businessman.

“It would be good if the export of rice abroad does not affect the supply of rice in the domestic market. If rice exports increase, domestic self-sufficiency may be affected,” he added.

There are more than 1.2 million acres of farmland in Arakan State, but only 850,000 acres could be brought under paddy cultivation due to various factors, according to data from the Arakan Farmers’ Union.

Myanmar exported more than one million metric tonnes of rice and broken rice during the first seven months of the fiscal year 2022-23 and earned more than US$400 million, according to the MRF.