In order to restore Myanmar to a global rice exporter, the Myanmar Rice Federation is calling for improvements and revisions to the country’s current policies and export regulations to encourage foreign investors to invest. The Myanmar government has set a goal of 3 million tons of exports for the 2013/14 fiscal year – a near 50% increase from the 2.1 million tons exported for the 2012/13 fiscal year according to the Minister of Commerce. Estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are that rice exports from the country will only reach 750,000 tons, although the Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts slightly increased production in 2014 after floods and pests caused a low 2013 harvest. Plans are currently in place to boost production – only in coffee, not rice. A Singapore-based Swiss commodity trading company will be investing $20 million over four years and will be planting 3,700 hectares of robusta coffee in the Ayeyarwaddy region of the country for export. The company also plans to invest in the country’s dairy sector to provide milk to schoolchildren.
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