A delegation led by officials from the
Ministry of Commerce is preparing to visit India to discuss the matter of beans
exports/ imports this month.
“During the past few days, officials
from the Ministry of Commerce and Myanmar Pulses, Beans and Sesame Merchants’
Association have been holding discussions on the matter. In the first week of
March, a delegation led by officials from the Ministry of Commerce went to
India for the first time. Now, the ministry is preparing to visit India again this
month,” said U Min Ko Oo, secretary of Myanmar Pulses, Beans and Sesame
Merchants’ Association.
“As the matter is still under discussion,
we cannot say much at this moment,” added U Min Ko Oo.
The prices of beans have declined
significantly in the local market after India announced a new policy in August 2017
to buy only 200,000 tonnes of pigeon peas, 300,000 tonnes of mung beans and
green beans from bean exporting countries, including Myanmar. India’s amended
import policy was valid until the end of March, but India has yet to fix a new policy.
Even though a new policy was not set,
India has issued special import licences to some bean traders. Traders who hold
the special licenses can import Myanmar beans to India.
“We have concluded that India lacks
transparency in its import policy. A few traders who hold special licences are importing
beans from Myanmar to India. It is confusing, because though India has limited the
import of beans, some traders are being issued special import licences. The
lack of transparency seems to be a deliberate attempt to buy at reduced rates,”
said U Min Ko Oo.
Myanmar exports some 90 per cent of its
pulses and beans, mainly pigeon peas and mung beans, to India. Last year, the
price of mung beans was Ks900,000 per tonne, while the price of pigeon peas was
Ks800,000 per tonne. The price of mung beans dropped to 390,000 per tonne,
while the price of pigeon peas plunged to Ks350,000 per tonne.
In mid-April, the price of mung beans
was Ks460,000 per tonne, while the price of pigeon peas was Ks400,000 per tonne.
Traders stocked the beans anticipating a decline in volumes after the water
festival. However, more beans continue to enter the market pushing down the
price further. Last January, the price of pigeon peas and mung beans increased
slightly, owing to the demand from Bangladesh, Pakistan and the UAE.
“We cannot control the price of beans
due to the low demand from India. This is the first time I have ever seen the
prices of beans sliding. We should not cultivate pigeon peas and mung beans
this year,” said U Min Ko Oo. “We have advised local farmers to cultivate beans
only for local consumption and export to China,” he added.
Traders have formed a committee and
contributed Ks 50 billion to control the beans market. Last October, the
committee bought pigeon peas and mung beans from local cultivators.
Although the government planned to buy
directly from local cultivators with a Ks15-billion fund in January, the plan has
yet to be implemented because the government decided to buy only when the
prices decline, which are lower than the cultivation costs.
The market for mung beans, pigeon peas
and green beans cultivated in Myanmar relies solely on India. Myanmar exports
some 1.5 million tonnes of beans to India annually.
Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar
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