The prospect of Burmese rice export is promising.

According to a survey conducted by the Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the export price of Burmese rice in October 2009 was US $310 per ton, down 17% from a year ago. As the current export prices of rice from Thailand and Vietnam are generally between US $360 and US $1600 per ton, Burmese rice still has a certain competitive advantage and has a good export prospect.

In the 2008-09 fiscal year, Myanmar exported 670000 tons of rice, and more than 500,000 tons were exported in the first six months of the 2009-10 fiscal year, which is estimated to reach 1 million tons for the whole fiscal year.

Burmese rice has been exported to about 20 countries, of which 85 per cent has been exported to Bangladesh, South Africa and C ô te d'Ivoire.

Statistics from the Myanmar Rice Trade Association show that Myanmar currently consumes 11.76 million tons of rice a year and has 3.24 million tons of rice surplus grain.