Myanmar’s Ministry of Commerce has announced that it would reconsider resuming rice export in November this year, after the country has imposed a temporary ban following the inundation of farmlands
The ministry revealed that Myanmar needs 34.8mn tonnes of paddy rice for domestic consumption. As over one million acres of farmlands or nearly 10 per cent of total 15mn acres are damaged by recent floods, rice stocks should be kept for domestic consumption, it added.
Between 200 and 300 thousand acres have been rendered useless and those areas require urgent attention and timely plantations, the ministry noted.
The Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) had earlier said that the export would be suspended until mid-September.
The country plans to export four million tonnes of rice by 2020 but the actual annual rice export has reached only 1.3mn tonnes over the past years.
According to the World Bank, paddy accounts for 30 per cent of total planted area and 40 per cent of gross agricultural output. It is estimated to account for 13 per cent of the country’s GDP.
