Corn prices rebound tracking foreign demand

The prices of corn edged up on the back of strong foreign demand, said U Aye Chan Aung, chair of the Myanmar Corn Industrial Association.
The prevailing corn price has inched higher to K1,080 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kilogrammes) on 18 October.
Foreign demand and Kyat depreciation against the US dollar are contributing factors to the price rise, he said.
“The exporters are purchasing large volumes. The price of corn has gradually risen on the foreign demand. When the Kyat-dollar exchange rate slid to K2,500-2,600, the corn dipped below K1,000 per viss in the Yangon market. When the dollar is exchanged at K2,900, the price slightly climbs to K1,080 per viss,” he elaborated. At present, Viet Nam and the Philippines are purchasing Myanmar corn by sea, according to the Myanmar Corn Industrial Association.
“Myanmar primarily exports them to the Philippines, followed by Viet Nam. Myanmar grasped 75 per cent of the market share in the Philippines, said U Aye Chan Aung.
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, the export earnings of the corn have to be exchanged for the US dollar according to the reference rate of the Central Bank of Myanmar (K2,100).
The US dollar is valued at over K2,900 in the unofficial exchanges, indicating a large gap between the regulated rate and the unofficial rate.
At present, the proposals of 112 companies have been forwarded to the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China for Myanmar’s traders to ship corn through a legitimate trade channel, according to the association.
Myanmar exported 2.3 million tonnes of corn to foreign trade partners in the 2020-2021 financial year. The majority of them were sent to Thailand and the remaining went to China, India and Viet Nam.
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/GNLM