Myanmar exempts rice from export tax

Aug 16, 2011, 8:10 GMT

Yangon - Myanmar's new government has exempted rice and six other items from export taxes for the next six months, to improve competitivity, state media reported Tuesday.

The exemption covering rice, corn, pulses and beans, sesame seeds, rubber and sea food went into effect Monday until February 14, The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

Rice exports faced a 8 per cent tax for decades under previous military regimes. The tax was reduced to 5 per cent on July 1 by the new government.

'We can now compete with the other rice-exporting countries in the world market,' Sein Win Hlaing, vice president of the Rice Exporters Association told the German Press Agency dpa. 'We may even start to get a profit now.'

Myanmar exported 800,000 metric tons of rice in the fiscal year ending March 31. The association estimated that rice exports will reach 600,000 tons this year.

The current market price for Myanmar rice is about 420 dollars per metric tons.

The country was the world's leading rice exporter prior to 1962, when military strongman General Ne Win overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister U Nu and launched the country along the 'Burmese way to socialism.'

Rice mills and export operations were nationalized, leading to sharp declines in shipments. Neighbouring Thailand has claimed the lead in rice exports since, shipping about 10 million tons per year.