Myanmar targets to export 500,000 tons of surplus rice in 2008-2009

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Updated January 25, 2009 09:38 PM


YANGON (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has targeted to export 500, 000 tons of surplus rice from the Ayeyarwaddy delta during the current financial year of 2008-09 ending March, the local Yangon Times reported in this week's issue.

The export will be done by 28 companies, the report said.




According to the figures of the Central Statistical Organization, in 2007-08, Myanmar exported 358,500 tons of rice, gaining 100 million US dollars.

The export tonnage in the first three quarters (April-December) of 2008-09 went to 150,000 tons amid storm.

Of the rice export, 101,235 tons were shipped to South Africa, 11,908 tons to Singapore, 8,007.85 tons to Sri Lanka, 2,499.7 tons to the United Arab Emirate, 1,500 tons to South Korea and 1,197.7 tons to Egypt, the Myanmar Agricultural Produces Trading was quoted as saying.

Myanmar government has urged agricultural entrepreneurs to make greater efforts for exporting more rice, saying that the country has enough cultivable land to boost paddy production.

Out of 17.6 million hectares of cultivable land, only 11.6 million hectares of paddy or 65.9 percent could be grown, the authorities said.

The calendar year 2007 saw a production of 30 million tons of paddy out of 7.6 million hectares grown, but only about 20,000 tons of rice were exported.