Myanmar sugar needs G-to-G pact for legitimate export to China

Exporters call for a government-to-government agreement to have a legitimate sugar export to China, U Win Htay, vice-chair of the Myanmar Sugar and Sugarcane-related Products Association told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
Myanmar earlier sent surplus sugar to China through a cross-border channel. The export was conducted with the state-level Memorandum of Understanding, he continued.
“China issues a quota on sugar imports for some countries, for instance, Laos and Cambodia. Those countries can export the sugar under the quota which is officially allowed. We still cannot reach an agreement on a quota limit. So, we carried out a deal only with the state-level agreement,” U Win Htay elaborated.
However, sugar export to China came to a halt suddenly due to the COVID-19 policy of China.
“Earlier, Myanmar exported both sugar and syrup to China. The virus impact suspended the sugar exports in border areas,” he stressed.
At present, Myanmar’s syrup is also conveyed to Viet Nam via maritime trade this year, the association stated.
Some local companies offered the sugarcane price at K90,000 per tonne for the upcoming 2022-2023 sugarcane season, the association stated.
Approximately, 450,000 acres are covered with sugarcane across the country, with an annual production of 450,000 tonnes of sugar, according to the Myanmar Sugar and Sugarcane-related Products Association.
Sugarcane is commonly grown in the upper Sagaing Region, followed by northern Shan State. It is also found in the western and eastern Bago Region, Yangon Region and Mandalay Region.
The sugarcane is grown in December-January. It can be harvested from November to February of the following years. The sugarcane growing rotation cycle lasts four years in Myanmar. — NN/GNLM