Bean exports to rebound: traders

This year’s harvest in Myanmar was no By Tin Moe Aung
Myanmar Times: 18 June, 2006

Myanmar traders inspect an array of beans and pulses on show at Yangon’s Bayintnaung Complex, Myanmar’s biggest commodity wholesale market. Prices for export-grade beans and pulses have dipped due to lower demand from India, although traders foresee a resurgence in demand by the end of the month. Pic: Lwin Maung Maung

PRICES for beans and pulses have fallen during the past two months, especially for matpe and varieties of toor, industry sources in Yangon said last week.

Behind the decrease was reduced demand from India, the traders said.

U Kyaw Win, the managing director of exporting firm KB International Co., Ltd, said special-quality, ready-cargo matpe peaked at US$700 a tonne in early April on the back of strong demand from Indian importers.

“The price of matpe during the first week of April was high and demand was very high due heavy rain and severe flooding in India, which destroyed the April crop there and caused India to turn to Myanmar for crops,” he said.

Last week, the price had fallen to US$600 a tonne after beginning its decline in the second week of April.

U Kyaw Win said that seven years ago the same grade of matpe cost $200 a tonne and that prices had risen about 25 percent a year in that time.

But India, which is the main buyer of Myanmar beans and pulses, heavily influences the market and has contributed to the recent price decreases.

“The main reason for the decrease in demand from India at the moment is the early arrival of the monsoon there,” Linn Star Co., Ltd managing director U Myan Linn said. “That’s led people to believe they will get more from their coming crop in September, which starts growing in mid June, so they’ve reduced the amount of beans and pulses they’re buying from our country.

“In May, four cargo ships carrying about 30,000 tonnes of beans and pulses made deliveries to India, which is a decrease of about 30 percent from the same time last year,” he said.

There are two major harvests of beans and pulses in India, the first in April and a second larger harvest in September, he added.

In Myanmar there is only one major crop, harvested in February and March, which produces between one million smaller than previous years’ and there was plenty of stock available should demand from India pick up again before their own September harvest.

U Kyaw Win predicted India would start looking to Myanmar for larger amounts of beans and pulses before the end of the month.

“Although they’ve reduced the amount they’re buying from Myanmar at the moment, they can’t keep it up for too long because they won’t have enough beans and pulses before their September crop comes. I think they’ll start buying more from Myanmar in late June,” he said.

Traders said Indians prefer the taste of Myanmar beans and pulses to their homegrown varieties, although the sizes of grains from Myanmar are typically smaller.