WASHINGTON: Myanmar exported over 180,000 tonnes of rice – worth over US$59 million – in May, including over 72,000 tonnes of rice – worth over $21 million – by ship, according to the Ministry of Commerce. May’s rice export volume exceeded April’s volume by over 100,000 tonnes. The country exported 39,115 tonnes of white and parboiled rice worth $11 million from May 28 to June 3 via sea routes: 6,430 tonnes of Emata rice to Bangladesh, 450 tonnes of parboiled rice and 150 tonnes of Emata rice to Russia, 625 tonnes of Emata rice to Madagascar, 250 tonnes of Emata rice to Andorra, 1,000 tonnes of Emata rice to Togo, 7,548 tonnes of Emata rice to Singapore, 20,000 tonnes of Emata rice to Côte d’Ivoire, 2,564 tonnes of Emata rice and 50 tonnes of parboiled rice to EU countries, and 48 tonnes of Emata rice to Sri Lanka.
Although Myanmar previously exported 80 per cent of its total rice exports via border gates, this figure has declined to 40 per cent, said commerce ministry permanent secretary Toe Aung Myint. “Rice exports before 2003 were mainly done by the government. The country exported one million tonnes of rice in 1995 and in 2002,” he said. “After that, rice exports were reduced. Myanmar broke its record when it exported 1.8 million tonnes of rice in the 2014-15 fiscal year, after it founded the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Association and the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders Association,” he said. Myanmar is expected to earn about $700 million from rice exports in the 2016-17 fiscal year, and the government expected to earn up to $1 billion from rice exports in 2022, according to the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Association.