UAE importer eyes Myanmar tamarind

By Admin 07 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
7 June 2023, Sittwe

A United Arab Emirates (UAE) firm has offered to buy 500 tonnes of fresh tamarind from Myanmar monthly, according to Nay Pyi Taw’s Department of Consumer Affairs.

Dubai-based Hermab Group will buy Myanmar tamarind and a list of Myanmar companies wishing to sell fresh tamarind is being compiled, said U Han Win Kyaw, director of the Department of Consumer Affairs.

“Companies that want to sell fresh tamarind to the UAE can contact the Myanmar Onion, Garlic and Culinary Crops Production and Exporting Association through the Bayint Naing brokerage centre. Myanmar companies wishing to export fresh tamarind to the UAE are being compiled,” he added.

Myanmar exports fresh tamarind to countries including Thailand, China, Singapore and Bangladesh, and fetches US$400 to US$600 per tonne, depending on the quality.

One viss of tamarind with seeds sells for K1,400 to K1,500 in the local market and one viss of seedless tamarind is priced at K2,100 to K2,500, according to brokerage centres.

Officials from the Bayint Naing brokerage centre said that domestic tamarind prices rose from April to mid-May, but since then, prices have been falling and trading has been cool.

Regarding the offer to buy fresh tamarind from the UAE, those who want to export and sell it have been informed to register, but to date no merchant has registered, said a female official from the Bayint Naing brokerage centre.

“No deadline has been set; merchants have not registered to export fresh tamarind to the UAE. We have notified merchants about the offer from UAE to buy fresh tamarind and advertised on our Facebook page,” she added.

Tamarind fruit is mainly produced in Myanmar’s arid zone and in Shan State’s Taunggyi and Pindaya townships.