Myanmar enjoys 5m tonnes of rice surplus annually
Sunday, 30 August 2009
YANGON, Aug. 29 (Xinhua): Myanmar enjoyed 4.89 million tons of rice surplus annually, the local Myanmar Post weekly reported yesterday.
According to official statistics, the country generated about 30 million tons of rice out of 8.26 million hectares of paddy cultivated in the fiscal year 2008-09 which ended in March.
It exported a record of over 700,000 tons of rice in the fiscal year and earned about 200 million US dollars.
There are so far 35 private companies in the country exporting rice to South Africa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Egypt. In June this year, Myanmar attended a three-day Middle East- Africa-Asia Rice/Grain Global Summit in Dubai in a bid to seek way of expanding its international rice market.
The country's per capita rice consumption stands 510 kilograms (kg) per year which are for rural people, while 408 kg for urban people. The annual consumption of rice by the entire country people reached over 17 million tons, statistics reveal.
With over 70 per cent of Myanmar's 57.37 million's population being engaged in agricultural undertakings, the agricultural sector represents the mainstay of the country's economy, contributing 40 per cent to the country's gross domestic product.
Myanmar has set a new target of producing 32 million tons of rice in 2009-10, of which 1.5 million tons of rice are to be exported.
According to official statistics, the country generated about 30 million tons of rice out of 8.26 million hectares of paddy cultivated in the fiscal year 2008-09 which ended in March.
It exported a record of over 700,000 tons of rice in the fiscal year and earned about 200 million US dollars.
There are so far 35 private companies in the country exporting rice to South Africa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Egypt. In June this year, Myanmar attended a three-day Middle East- Africa-Asia Rice/Grain Global Summit in Dubai in a bid to seek way of expanding its international rice market.
The country's per capita rice consumption stands 510 kilograms (kg) per year which are for rural people, while 408 kg for urban people. The annual consumption of rice by the entire country people reached over 17 million tons, statistics reveal.
With over 70 per cent of Myanmar's 57.37 million's population being engaged in agricultural undertakings, the agricultural sector represents the mainstay of the country's economy, contributing 40 per cent to the country's gross domestic product.
Myanmar has set a new target of producing 32 million tons of rice in 2009-10, of which 1.5 million tons of rice are to be exported.