Myanmar ships over 1 mln MT of rice in past four months

Myanmar delivered more than 1.07 million metric tons of rice and broken rice in the past four months of the current mini-budget period (October 2021-March 2022), according to the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).
Myanmar has exported rice to 27 foreign markets so far. China is the main buyer of Myanmar rice.
Meanwhile, Myanmar shipped broken rice primarily to China, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France and three other countries.
The volume of rice and broken exports stood at over 216,375 MT in October 2021, 285,223 MT in November, 301,033.9 MT in December and 269.215.9 MT in January 2022, respectively, MRF’s data showed.
The prices of low-quality white rice varieties were approximately valued US$330-355 per MT depending on the different varieties and quality. The export price of Myanmar’s rice was relatively lower than the rates of Thailand and Viet Nam. Yet, the prices were higher than those market prices of India and Pakistan, MRF’s data showed.
At present, traders turned to maritime trade for rice export as COVID-19 restrictions hindered the trading activity through the border posts. Myanmar shipped rice and broken rice to China, regional countries and European Union countries through maritime trade. Trading in the domestic market is quite sluggish amidst the excess supply.
The rice worth K43,000-K50,000 per bag is highly demanded in the domestic market. The prices of high-quality rice move in the range of K34,500-K58,000 per bag, the Bayintnaung Rice Wholesale Centre’s price data indicated.
Myanmar generated over $800 million from rice exports in the financial year 2019-2020 ended 30 September, with an estimated volume of over 2.5 million tonnes. Myanmar generated US$700.13 million income from exports of 1.87 million tonnes of rice and broken rice in the past FY2020-2021 (October-September) amidst the border trade disruption triggered by the COVID-19 negative consequences, as per the statistics released by the Myanmar Customs Department. — KK/GNLM