Economy According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Myanmar’s total milled rice production was 10.60 million tons in 2011, an increase of 1.8% from 2010. By comparison, Thailand produced 20.48 million tons in 2011, up 1% from 2010. Although Myanmar’s rice exports have seen growth in the last two years, the country’s rice exports only represented 4.2% of the 15.5 million tons exported by ASEAN countries in 2011. Myanmar’s rice industry has been a focal point of economic development plans, with the ADB forecasting that Myanmar rice exports could more than double by 2020. The agricultural sector stills accounts for about 43% of Myanmar’s GDP which is expected to grow by about five percent annually over the next five years. The country has a harvested rice area of about 7 million hectares. In order to further develop the rice sector, Myanmar will need to make improvements in various areas. One obstacle to development is the lack of rural credit for rice farmers which would help them to buy better quality seeds and fertilizer. Expanding irrigation and transport routes would also help Myanmar compete in the global rice market. Technology will also play a pivotal role as the country makes the transition from manual to mechanized farming. Currently about 80% of Myanmar’s rice mills are low-tech which means that a much higher percentage of rice is broken during the milling process.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 05:00:12 +0000
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