Benefiting from a favourable climate and a competitive labour force, Myanmar has established itself as the world's 7th largest producer in an industry that should continue to grow in the coming years.
Sector facts:
- With about 25 million tons of paddy produced, Myanmar is the seventh largest producer of rice and paddy in the world, accounting for 3.3% of the global output.
- In 2017-2018, Myanmar's rice exports reached 3.5 million tons, totaling about US$ 1.1 billion. This amount decreased in 2019 with the Chinese government's restrictions on rice imports.
- Over 4 million farmers throughout the country grow paddy. The paddy sown acreage represented 17.9 million acres in 2017. In total, the sector creates about 16 million jobs.
- Between October 2019 and March 2020, the country exported 66% of the rice and 34% of the broken rice.
Main export markets
Sub-Saharan African countries dominate Myanmar rice exports, followed by China. While China remains by far the largest importer of Myanmar rice, capturing about 27% of the country’s total exports over the period October 2019-March 2020 despite recent restrictions, 37% of the rice exported by Myanmar is destined to Sub-Saharan African countries. Other markets of significant importance include the EU and the ASEAN, accounting for 18% and 16% of Myanmar rice exports, respectively.
In Europe, the main customer is Belgium, which is also the third largest importer of rice from Myanmar. In Africa, Senegal (2nd), Madagascar (4th), Guinea (8th), Ivory Coast (9th) and Mozambique (10th) dominate. As for the Asian market, the main partners are Indonesia (5th), Malaysia (6th) and the Philippines (7th).
A growing sector
Between 2014 and 2018, the value of domestic exports increased by 48.4% to reach $921,8 million USD.
60 trading partners
In 2018, Myanmar was exporting rice to 60 different countries.
A major producer
Myanmar is the seventh largest producer of rice and paddy in the world, accounting for 3.3% of the global output.
