'Boost Rice Industry'

A World Bank report said Myanmar can greatly increase its agricultural exports if it can improve the quality of rice through investments in rice mills, while it should also reduce transport costs and formulate policies to support rice export and agricultural production.

The report, titled “Capitalizing on Rice Export Opportunities,” said that since reforms began in 2011 rice exports have significantly increased, but in the past two years export volumes leveled off at about 1.3 million tons annually.

It said much of the rice produced in Myanmar is of low quality and unfit for export to high-value markets such as the European Union, where Myanmar products are exempt from import tariffs under the Generalized Scheme of Preferences, which grants least developed countries preferential market access.

“The current rice export strategy favors the production of low quality rice, which is largely sold to Africa and China. Consequently, farmers have earned minimal profits and agribusinesses have skipped necessary investments,” a World Bank press release said. “The situation is worsening as the global demand for low quality broken rice is shrinking.”

Paddy yields in Myanmar are among the lowest in Southeast Asia at 2.5 metric tons per hectare and most rice mills use outdated machinery that produces rice with a high percentage of broken grains, making it unsuitable for foreign export markets, according to the World Bank.