Simple and unsophisticated operation is there in Myanmar regarding the business sector of paddy and rice in the country such as (1) local dealing and (2) foreign trading. In the context of local dealing, the people such as peasants and farmers, brokers, rice traders, and rice millers involved in the sphere. In the foreign deal, persons involved such as big rice merchants, large rice millers, rice exporting traders, rice exporting companies, and rice buyers from foreign countries.
Local rice dealers have to negotiate among themselves about the financial transaction for the paddy and rice deal. In making the deal possible, these people have to talk and refer the quality of paddy and rice. When referring the quality, they usually pointed a “standardize” quality for determination in the transaction. This is being called “standardization” of rice.
In the local marketing, the quality of rice has been based on the moisture, rice quality, clean and unsoiled status. Usually, the moisture has been pegged and marked as (14) per cent benchmark. When the percentage of moisture is more than the fixed marker, then the paddy and rice price rolled down.
The buyers such as the merchant, broker and rice miller used the agreed instrument in determining the moisture, and downgraded the price of rice accordingly. The peasants and farmers have to sell out the paddy at a lower price. In checking the quality and cleanliness, the rice is placed on the palm of the hand for examination. When the rice is found to be discolored, mixed in variety rice, laced with dust and dirt, then the price of paddy is lowered. The peasants and farmers have no alternative but to accept the embarrassing low price.
This standardization has been in used for about (50) years in Myanmar. Therefore, it is time to adopt the international norm and standard in use today.
In the rice export business, foreign buyers and local sellers mainly talked about the quality of rice in determining the transaction price. They talked over the quality of rice. The norms used over the standard are still the old terms being existed during the British rule in the country. Even existing prescribed norms vide Order Number 1/ 2014 issued on 9 January 2014 by the Department of Rice and Rice Produce under the Ministry of Commerce are not in conformity with the existing international standard.
Customarily, Myanmar is not using the original name of the paddy in the transaction, but referred the term over the group of rice, resulting in dilemma for dealing with foreign buyers. Myanmar used the terms such as Emata (5), Emata (10), Emata (15) and Emata (25) in selling the rice, and that the foreign buyers enquired and asked the meaning of Emata.
When we referred Emata Group, there are varieties of paddies in that category. This category is all mixed up with many sorts of paddy, resulting with very low price. Therefore, it is now the right time to call “Myanmar White Rice”, and that it is to be classified as Grade (A), Grade (B) and Grade (C). Moreover, other rice should be termed as “Myanmar Glutinous Rice” and “Myanmar Parboiled Rice”.
In the current standardization for the quality of rice in Myanmar, it is found that the terms are not in conformity and compliance with the norms of the coder rules, the norms of the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the norms of the International Rice Research Institute. Therefore, the export of Myanmar rice is facing many facets of difficulties and hindrances in the price negotiations. There are times that the deal encountered with worst ending.
Regarding the norm and standardization of rice, the variety of specifications included such as that of the length, width, roundness, content of nutrient, inclusion of broken rice, size of broken rice, enclosure of raw paddy, inclusion of damaged paddy, inclusion of red rice, dust, sand, filth, degree of moisture, and poor rice polishing process.
Since the Myanmar rice market remains with many faulty conditions that are not in line with the international standard, the Myanmar rice dealers experienced many challenges and difficulties in selling the rice. Therefore, now is the time to upgrade Myanmar rice to come on a par with the norm and standard of rice status of the neighboring countries.
Another factor that needed to address is the weighing system. Since the time of ancient kings, the dealing and transaction of rice in Myanmar is used with the norms such as Myanmar terminology namely “Tinn”, “Khwai”, “Seit”, “Pyay”, and “Salai”, being locally and widely accepted as the standardization of rice in the country.
During the time of Myanmar Socialist Program Party, weighing of rice was being changed into unit of measuring with the “pound”. The standard of Government is fixed at (46) pounds equal to one “Tinn”. However, nowadays in various parts of the country, the transactions in the sales of rice stand out in (52) pounds, (54) pounds, or (56) pounds. It is in fact not in line with the international standard of rice deal if compared to other countries.
There is no norm and standard in the transaction of rice using the weighing system of “pound” in many countries. The system in use is with the weighing of ton / kilogram in the rice deal. If the sales and the deals are done only in the local context of the rice market among the business people, there is no problem at all. However, in the international deal, it is difficult to use the different and dissimilar unit of measurement.
In the deal for the matter in the context of rice export, Myanmar rice dealers are thinking and considering locally, while the foreign buyers come into Myanmar using the term of international norm. Myanmar side is using the cultivation term “acres” and measurement term “Tinn”, while the foreign buyers bring in the terms such as “hectare”, “ton”, “kilogram”, resulting with the delayed calculation to come up on a par with the international norm with different language. It is therefore, time to convert the measurement and weighing into “hectare” and “kilogram”.
In conclusion, it is to say that Myanmar is doing commercial and trade businesses with the international community, the ASEAN countries, and foreign countries, and that the writer would like to advice and urge that it is time to change and convert in the standardization of weighing systems of the country in line with the norm, standard and model of international practices.
This Article was appeared in No. 15, Vloume (18) of the “Do Kyay-Ywar” Journal on 15 September 2018.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Global New Light of Myanmar. Ed
Translated by UMT (Ahlon)
Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar
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