GLOBAL RICE SUPPLY STABLE DESPITE MYANMAR EARTHQUAKE

By Vijian Paramasivam

PHNOM PENH, April 1 (Bernama) -- The recent earthquake in Myanmar, a key global rice exporter, is not expected to cause a significant disruption to the global rice supply, despite potential impacts on production and distribution networks.

The Southeast Asian nation is ranked in the top ten key rice exporters in the world supplying about 2.5 million metric tonnes to the international markets. It however lags behind major players like India, China, Pakistan and the United States.

According to the Myanmar Rice Federation, the country earned about RM4.5 billion (US$1 billion) from rice and broken rice exports from April 2024 to February this year.

Myanmar, grappling with a slowing economy since the military coup in February 2021 and prone to natural disasters suffered massive damages after an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the country last Friday afternoon. 

In September last year, Typhoon Yagi hit the country destroying key infrastructures and farmland.

“There will be minimal impact on the global rice market after what happened in Myanmar because there is an oversupply of rice at present. 

"India has excessive stocks and crops have been good. In case there is a deficit, India alone can handle the shortage,” University Grants Commission Professor and Director for Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Development Studies at the Professor Jayshankar Twlangana Agricultural University, Samarendu Mohanty told Bernama from Andra Pradesh state.

The southern state, also known as the “Rice Bowl of India”, produces close to eight million tonnes of rice annually. 

India ships out nearly 22 million metric tonnes of rice to the world market. In the region, Vietnam and Thailand remain major exporters of the grain.

“India’s current production is about 2.5 million metric tonnes a month, so that could easily exceed 25 million metric tonnes this year. There is also a high demand for Indian rice,” said Mohanty. 

Commenting on the 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on rice imports from Mexico, Mohanty said that this will benefit Asian rice exporters.

“This is an opportunity for Asian rice exporters to enter the Mexican market. Countries like Vietnam and Thailand have a big chance to enter the Mexican market,” he said.

-- BERNAMA