The price of paddy remains high, hitting around K650,000 per 100 baskets (one basket is equivalent to 46 pounds), said U Than Oo, the secretary of Bayintnaung Rice Wholesale Centre.cCurrently, the paddy is no longer in the hands of the farmers, and it is stockpiled in the warehouses. The paddy traders are calling for a high price to sell the paddy. Consequently, the price of paddy remains high, he added. The price of paddy has mounted mostly in the regional market. Earlier, the paddy was sold directly from the farmland.
Now, the paddy is being sent to the warehouse to stockpile. So, the warehouse owners will sell the stored paddy at their calling prices. Besides, the price of milled paddy to export abroad has risen, but the price of rice has not gone up. Thus, the millers who will buy paddy to mill will not be convenient. There are only a few companies that buy rice to export. The rice trading has also dropped because the rice traders are not buying the rice with cash down payment. The traders could not make trading with cash down payment because the bank could not fully operate in money withdrawal-like previously.
Currently, the price of milled paddy exported abroad hits around K600,000 per 100 baskets while the price of rice for domestic consumption moves in the range of K650,000-700,000 per 100 baskets, Bayintnaung Rice Wholesale Centre reported. On 23 July, the Committee for Farmers Rights, Protection and Interests Promotion fixed the basic price of paddy at K 520,000 per 100 baskets if the paddy meets the prescribed criteria—14-per-cent moisture content and a fixed percentage of impurities such as sand, weed, and small stones. In accordance with the Farmers Rights, Protection and Interests Promotion Law, the committee has fixed the basic price of paddy for the local farmers to be able to sell at a fair price and search the market for their produce.
Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar