June 19
According to the Ministry of Commerce, Myanmar has successfully shipped more than 310,000 tonnes of pulses, valued at over $240 million, to foreign countries during the first two months of the 2023-2024 financial year.
Seaborne trade accounted for $212.505 million (280,816.864 tonnes) of the pulses exports, while an additional 29,756.277 tonnes of pulses, worth $212.505 million, were sent to neighbouring countries via land borders between 1 April and 2 June 2023.
In the previous financial year of 2022-2023, Myanmar’s pulses exports surpassed $1.4 billion, with a total volume of over 1.9 million tonnes, as indicated by the Ministry of Commerce’s statistics.
The primary pulses exported by Myanmar include black grams, green grams, and pigeon peas. Black grams and pigeon peas are mainly shipped to India, while green grams are sent to China and Europe.
India has a growing demand for black grams and pigeon peas, leading to increased consumption. A Memorandum of Understanding signed between Myanmar and India on 18 June 2021, states that India will import 250,000 tonnes of black grams and 100,000 tonnes of pigeon peas (tur) from Myanmar annually for five consecutive years, from the 2021-2022 financial year to the 2025-2026 FY. This government-to-government agreement will not affect India’s set annual quota for pulses. Myanmar’s exporters are also permitted to deliver pulses to India within that quota.
The current prices for pulses stand at K2.425 million per tonne of black gram (urad) and K3.235 million per tonne of pigeon peas (tur). On 14 June, the price of pigeon peas reached a record high of K3.33 million per tonne, while black grams peaked at K2.461 million per tical on the same day.
Myanmar Pulses, Beans, Maize, and Sesame Seeds Merchants Association states that black gram, which is primarily purchased by India, is predominantly found only in Myanmar. Pigeon peas, green grams, and chickpeas are grown in African countries and Australia. — NN/EM
