Inputs required for winter corn cultivation costs more than double this year

The input required for winter corn cultivation has increased more than double this year than previous years, said U Min Khaing, chair of the Myanmar Corn Industrial Association.
Regarding this matter, the increase was due to the rising of international input prices and it has also increased in the domestic market, he added.
“The major problem is the input price changing in the international market. It means the price of fertilizer was fetched around US$300 per tonnes in the international market last year. But, it has increased to over $600 per tonne this year, said U Min Khaing.
At present, this is the time of winter corn season, which produce 30 per cent of Myanmar’s corn, the association stated.
Therefore, Myanmar Corn Industrial Association is coordinating with the private loan provider to get 500,000 loans per acre for winter corn growers.
The association also requested authorities to provide loans for winter season corn growers due to the rising input costs of the corn.
The prevailing prices of corn move in the range of K690-K710 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kilogrammes), whereas the FOB price is approximately $240-260 per tonne.
The country targeted to export around 2 million tonnes of corn to the external market in the corn plantation season in the 2021-22FY, said U Min Khaing, chair of the Myanmar Corn Industrial Association.
Myanmar exported approximately 2.3 million tonnes of corn to the external market in the financial year 2020-21, according to the Myanmar Corn Industrial Association.
Of 2.3 million tonnes, the majority of them were delivered to Thailand, whereas the remaining corns were conveyed to China, India and Viet Nam.
Myanmar exported over 2.2 million tonnes of corn to the foreign market in the past FY2019-2020, 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