Corn growers need loans to cover rising input costs: MCIA

Myanmar Corn Industrial Association (MCIA) requested authorities to provide loans for cold season corn growers due to the rising input costs of the corn.
“This is the time to start growing the cold season corn, which will produce 30 per cent of Myanmar’s corn. At this time, the local growers are started seeking the cultivation costs. They are also collecting the agricultural input such as fertilizers, corn seeds and fuel in this time. There are being faced with the difficulty of making cash transactions as well. In the past, our association cooperated with private banks to provide loans for local farmers. This year, there is no bank provide the loans for the farmers,” said U Min Khaing, the chair of the MCIA.
Currently, the input costs for corn cultivation are rising. Following the upward trend, a 50-kilogramme bag of “Palae fertilizer” was priced only K26,500 last year and the price surged to K65,000 per bag currently, MCIA stated.
Hence, it would be more convenient if the government would provide the loan for the corn growers in time through the state bank or the private bank is cooperating with the association, he added.
“The monsoon corn will be harvested very soon. Nevertheless, the yield of the product could be reduced by 20 per cent this year because of bad weather conditions. If the growers don’t get the agricultural loan, they will grow other crops with lower input costs instead of the corn crops. As a result, the acre of corn plantation will be dropped,” said U Min Khaing.
Following the corn production decline, the revenue of the foreign exchange earnings through corn plantation will also decrease, it is learnt.
“The corn is one of the top foreign exchange earners in Myanmar. This year, Myanmar’s corn exports to Thailand generated revenue of US$ 395 million. The revenue excludes other country export such as Laos, India and Viet Nam. As a crop that generates foreign exchange earnings, the government should provide the loans to the farmers through the state bank or private bank before the October and November cultivation season,” said U Min Khaing.
The country has exported more than 2.2 million tonnes of corn to foreign countries in the current financial year 2020-2021, according to the Myanmar Corn Industrial Association.
Of 2.2 million tonnes, about 1.6 million tonnes of corn were delivered to Thailand, whereas the remaining corns were conveyed to China, India and Viet Nam.
This year, the corn fetched a good price at US$260-270 per tonne. It was priced only $200-230 per tonne during the year-ago period.
This year, the corn fetched a good price of US$260-270 per tonne. It was priced only $200-230 per tonne during the year-ago period.
Myanmar exported over 2.2 million tonnes of corn to the foreign market in the past 2019-2020FY, with an estimated value of over $ 360 million, according to the data of the Ministry of Commerce.
Currently, corn is cultivated in Shan, Kachin, Kayah and Kayin states and Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway regions. There are about 1.12 million acres of corn in Myanmar and it has three corn seasons — winter, summer and monsoon.
The country produces 2.5-3 million tonnes of corn annually. — NN/GNLM