Rice Prices Rise in Rangoon Markets

By KYI WAI

RANGOON—The price of low quality rice has increased around 4,000 kyat (US $2.50) a bag in local markets here because of low rice productivity following Cyclone Nargis and the exporting of rice, say local dealers.

Only about one-third of the normal rice stock was coming into the market in the last week of September and the first week of October, dealers said.

Before the export crunch, low quality aemata rice, also known as 25 percent of “broken rice,” was priced around 14,000 kyat ($1.60) per bag. It has risen to about 18,000 kyat now, about a 20 percent increase.

High quality hard rice price has risen from 16,000 kyat to 22,000 kyat per bag, while there is no low quality rice in some vendor’s stock.

Price of low quality pawsanmhwe rice has increased from 15,000 to 20,000 kyat per bag; middle quality from 22,000 to 25,000 kyat per bag and special high quality from 32,000 to 35,000 kyat per bag.

"Dealers who bought the rice for export have caused less rice to come to market,” said a rice vendor. "In the last days of September, the government has given the purchasing and selling permits to rice export firms."

In Rangoon, rice from Pegu Division and Irrawaddy Division are the most in demand.

According to an official at the Myanmar Rice Producers Association, aemata rice was exported to Bangladesh and China in September.

According to the official figure, about 20 percent of the rice agriculture sector in the delta was damaged following Nargis. Important rice growing areas such as Phyapone, Bogalay, Laputta and Myaungmya in Irrawaddy Division and Kawmhu and Kwanchangone townships in Rangoon Division were seriously damaged by the cyclone. The areas were inundated by saltwater and efforts to plant seed generally failed to produce sprouts.

About 17 million acres were planted during this monsoon season which will produce an estimated 16 million tons of rice harvest; about 2.5 million tons is scheduled to be exported, according to Gen Htay Oo, the minister of agriculture.

However, about 400,000 tons of rice was exported in 2007.

Rice can be exported from only three regions—Irrawaddy, Pegu and Sagaing divisions.