The price of rice in the domestic market is rising in spite of the decline in rates in the export market, said U Than Oo, secretary, Bayintnaung commodity depot.
“In the domestic market, the price of long grain rice with pointed ends has climbed to K22,000-23,000 per bag. Monsoon rice is fetching a good price. At present, summer rice is not commanding a good rate. The price of export rice is sliding,” said U Than Oo.
“Currently, export-oriented summer rice is flooding the domestic market, as trade has moved to normal channels from border exports. The supply is exceeding demand as there are fewer rice exporters and rice mills, and limited storage capacity. In addition, the price of rice has slipped slightly in the global market and local traders are unwilling to sell rice at a reduced rate,” said U Than Oo.
Foreign traders have brought down the price of summer rice owing to some moisture content, leading to market manipulation and collapse of the market, according to traders at the Bayintnaung depot.
“Rice merchants are currently going to villages to make advance purchase, so the supply of rice to the Yangon market might shrink,” they added.
The prevailing price of low-quality rice intended for export is US$270-275 per metric ton compared with $330-340 in 2014, according to data from the Myanmar Rice Federation.
Over the past eight months (Oct-May) of the current fiscal year 2018-2019, more than 1.5 million tons of rice and broken rice have been exported to foreign markets, generating an estimated income of $472.17 million. By Nyein Nyein(Translated by Ei Myat Mon)
