Corn price on downward trend in domestic market

Yangon Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Bayint Naung commodity centre) saw a downward trajectory in prices of corn, according to
At the end of January, the corn price was stable at K1,300 per viss. Then, the price has been moving downwards from the last week of February and touched a low of K1,200 per viss on 25 March.
The decrease in FOB price affected the corn price in the domestic market. The FOB price is US$310-330 per tonne.
At present, Myanmar delivered corn to China and Thailand through border posts and also shipped corn to China, India, Vietnam and the Philippines by sea, according to Myanmar Corn Industrial Association.
China is purchasing Myanmar’s corn through cross-border trade under the opium substitution program. Legitimate corn trade between Myanmar and China commenced at the end of 2022. A total of 112 companies have been given the go-ahead for corn exports.
Thailand gives green light to corn imports under zero tariff (with Form-D), between 1 February and 31 August. However, Thailand imposed a maximum tax rate of 73 per cent on corn imports to protect the rights of their growers if the corn is imported during the corn season of Thailand.
The directive released on 30 June said that transactions for the exports of agricultural products including corn, rice, bean and oil crops are to be made in dollars instead of Yuan-Kyat/Baht-Kyat. Therefore, 65 per cent of export earnings (US dollars) of the corn have to be exchanged according to the reference rate of the Central Bank of Myanmar (K2,100). Nonetheless, there is a large gap between the regulated rate and the unauthorized rate of the US dollar (over K2,880).
Myanmar exported more than 2 million tonnes of corn to foreign trade in the 2020-2021 financial year. The majority of them were sent to Thailand and the remaining went to China, India and Viet Nam.
More than two million tonnes of corn are expected to be shipped to foreign trade partners in the 2023 corn season, said U Min Khaing, chair of the Myanmar Corn Industrial Association.
At present, corn is cultivated in Shan, Kachin, Kayah and Kayin states and Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway regions. Myanmar has three corn seasons — winter, summer and monsoon. The country produces 2.5-3 million tonnes of corn every year. — NN/EM