With the aim of ensuring the penetration of Myanmar paddy to the global rice market, Myanmar Rice Federation is working to redraft standards and specifications for rice and paddy, according to a talk titled “Myanmar paddy quality” at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (headquarters) in Yangon on December 3.

Aung Than Oo, Vice-President of Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) said: “The new standards and specifications for rice and paddy will emerge in early 2019. According to the new standards, we will promote the quality of rice. We change the paddy ratios to meet the international standards. Paddy will become ready to penetrate the new markets as it meets international standards.”

“The process of drafting the quality and specifications for rice is 95 per cent complete. The MRF will submit the draft standardization to the State-level standardization committee. The process for paddy is 60 per cent complete. We need to hold more discussions with farmers as the process is broad. Three or four discussions are needed for paddy. In the next month, the discussions for both paddy and rice will be finalized. The government will release it after the MRF submits the draft standardization to the State-level committee,” he added.

Myanmar exports rice mainly to China via the border route. It needs to promote the quality of local paddy and rice to meet international standards as paddy can penetrate to the EU market.

“The main point is so that we can export 25-mark rice to China and the Philippines. Standardization is of great importance as paddy also goes to the EU market.

So we have to adjust the our current standardizations”, he added.

Thanks to the market expansion in 2017-18 FY, Myanmar exported nearly 3.6 million tons, a recording-breaking during over 50 years. Now Myanmar can export rice to more than 60 countries.

Thanks to the market expansion in 2017-18 FY, the rice export via sea route accounts for 48 per cent of the total rice exports.