Government will spend Ks38 billion on purchasing 50,000 tons of rice and 12,000 tons of edible oil as emergency food reserves, said Union Minister for Commerce Dr Than Myint.

The minister revealed the information during a video conferencing with local merchants from Mandalay Region to hold a coordination meeting on purchase of State food reserves, commodity price stability and easy commodity flow on April 22.

He said Ks38 billion had been allotted to buy those emergency foods adding that the money will be spent on buying rice and edible oil that are major food items.

The meeting was also aimed at seeking suggestions from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Myanmar Rice Federation, Myanmar Edible Oil Merchants and Entrepreneurs Association and Mandalay Region Traders Association regarding the matter of purchasing State food reserves in case the Covis-19 outbreak increases.

Myanmar grows about 17.8 million acres of paddy every year and yields around 27 million tons of paddy.

The country produced over 27.5 million tons of rice in 2018-2019 fiscal year, the largest yield in five years.