18 Oct
The price of sugarcane is likely to strike K40,000 per tonne in next sugarcane season scheduled for the third week of December until April in the financial year 2020-2021, according to the Agriculture Department.
“We have attempted to raise the price of sugarcane in next season. We targeted for the sugarcane market price to reach K40,000 per tonne. The sugarcane cultivation dropped by around 20,000 or 30,000 acres this year compared to last year. Some growers destroyed their plantations because of the offering of low price for their sugarcane. So, there will be only 400,000 acres of sugarcane this year,” said an official from the Agriculture Department.
At present, China purchases Myanmar’s sugarcane as raw material and offers a higher price than those in the internal market. There are 23 sugar mills in the local market. Sugar mills are ready to run, but old stocks remain in the mills, so operators are delaying the purchase of sugarcane. The sugar price will also slightly drop down to K900 per viss.
Sugarcane is one of the significant industrial crops cultivated in Myanmar. It is grown in more than half the world, including Asia and America, because of its health benefits. Sugarcane contains proteins, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and potassium, and vitamins A, B-complex, and C.
Myanmar produced about 450,000 tonnes of sugar on 440,000 acres of sugarcane plantations in the 2014-2015 financial year, over 390,000 tonnes on 390,000 acres in the 2015-2016FY, over 370,000 tonnes on 400,000 acres in the 2016-2017FY, over 500,000 tonnes on 400,000 acres in the 2017-2018FY, and 500,000 tonnes on nearly 500,000 acres in the 2018-2019FY.
Sugarcane prices hit over K50,000 per tonne in the 2015-2016FY, K45,000 in the 2016-2017FY, K41,500 in the 2017-2018FY, and K38,000-40,000 in the 2018-2019FY, according to news released online by the Ministry of Commerce.
Zin Yaw Aye (Translated by Hay Mar)
