Domestic sugar price jumps due to shortage of sugar stockpile

With the export of Myanmar sugar, the domestic sugar price has risen on account of the shortage of sugar stockpile in the country, according to Myanmar Sugar & Cane Related Products Association. The sugar prices have risen to around K970 per viss in mid-January, from below K900 in early December because some of the sugar consuming enterprises and domestic restaurants resumed their operation. There is also a shortage of sugar stockpile in the country.
“Sugar is exported to China in the form of liquid. The country exports sugar to Viet Nam also via sea route. Now, some of the enterprises have started operating, and the country has less stockpile. Consequently, the sugar price has climbed this time. The global surge price has gone up this year,” said an official from its association. Now, Myanmar exports the syrups to China via Muse border trade. The country has also shipped 30,000 tonnes of sugar to Viet Nam via sea route from last December 2020.
In the 2019-2020 financial year, the country permitted 11 types of enterprises to import the sugar. Then, some 57,665 tonnes of refined sugar have been imported. Besides, the country could re-export 177,042 tonnes of sugar, according to the official statistics of the Department of Trade, the Ministry of Commerce. In the 2020-2021FY, the sugar mill factories targeted to mill 4,213,300 tonnes of the sugar cane, according to the Agriculture Department.
Sugarcane is one of the major industrial crops cultivated in Myanmar. It is grown in more than half the world, including Asia and America, because of its health benefits. Sugarcane contains proteins, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and potassium, and vitamins A, B-complex, and C.
Myanmar produced about 450,000 tonnes of sugar on 440,000 acres of sugarcane plantations in 2014-2015 financial year, over 390,000 tonnes on 390,000 acres in the 2015-2016FY, over 370,000 tonnes on 400,000 acres in the 2016-2017FY, over 500,000 tonnes on 400,000 acres in the 2017-2018FY, and 500,000 tonnes on nearly 500,000 acres in the 2018-2019FY. —Zin Yaw Aye (Translated by Hay Mar)