Myanmar’s exports of farm products remarkably soared to US$3.69 billion between 1 October 2019 and 25 September 2020 in the 2019-2020 financial year from $3.2 billion in the corresponding period of the 2017-2018FY, according to the trade figures released by the Ministry of Commerce.
During the last FY2019-2020, the agro-export figures reflect an increase of $474 million against a-year ago period. Myanmar’s agricultural exports rose regardless of the impact of the coronavirus on foreign demand. In the exports sector, the agricultural industry performed the best, accounting for 22 per cent of overall exports. The chief items of export in the agricultural industry are rice and broken rice, pulses and beans and maize. Fruits and vegetables, sesame, dried tea leaves, sugar, and other agro products are also shipped to other countries.
More than 100,000 acres of monsoon paddy have been cultivated under the contract farming system this year, according to Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF). The Commerce Ministry is working to help farmers deal with challenges such as high input costs, procurement of pedigree seeds, high cultivation costs, and unpredictable weather conditions. In a bid to remedy the businesses stricken by the COVID-19, the government also provided the agricultural loan of K150,000 per acre of paddy.
Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar