Myanmar Expands International Rice Market

YANGON, Jan 28 (Bernama) -- Myanmar has been expanding its rice market to more countries by exporting its agricultual crop to Russia, Ukraine, Australia and South Korea in the first nine months of the 2009-2010 fiscal year, reports China's Xinhua news agency on Thursday.

According to official figures, Myanmar's rice export in the first nine months (April-December) of the 2009-10 fiscal year reached over 1.2 million tonnes against the export target of 1.5 million tonnes.

Citing sources, Xinhua reported that under its market expansion plan, Myanmar is making efforts to export high-grade rice to Kuwait, Middle East, African and European Union countries.

The nine-month export registered the highest over the past decade against the one million tonnes recorded in the year 2000.

Myanmar's rice export amounted to 700,000 tonnes in 2008-09.

Myanmar's major rice exporting countries went to East Asian countries to where over 50,000 tonnes were exported in 2009, while over 850 tonnes to Middle East countries.

There are so far 35 private companies in the country undertaking the export of rice to South Africa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirate, South Korea and Egypt.

As more companies have come and invested in the rice production sector, the country is expected to export better quality rice during this year, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry said.

According to official statistics, the country generated about 30 million tonnes of rice out of 8.26 million hectares of paddy cultivated in the last fiscal year 2008-09.

Myanmar enjoyed rice surplus of 5 million tonnes yearly.

Source :http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=471799

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