The prices of beans have gone up sharply due to higher demand from India and lower stock in Myanmar, bean traders said.
India is the major customer of Myanmar’s beans, with more than 80 percent of the total produce going to the neighbouring nation. India mainly imports Matpe, Green Gram and Pegion Pea types.
India’s high demand was triggered by low yield due to natural disasters in the country.
Pegion Pea price has increased from about K600,000 ($600) per tonne last year to over K900,000 per tonne now, while Matpe went up from K650,000 per tonne to over K950,000 and Green Gram from K1 million to K1.2 million.
Myanmar is expected to export 1.2 million tonnes of beans at the end of the current financial year, which ends on March 31. Myanmar exported more than 1 million tonnes of beans from April 2014 to January, according to Myanmar Pulses, Beans and Sesame Seeds Merchants’ Association.
Farmers in Myanmar grow peas and beans as a second crop. The most popular kinds of beans grown are black mung bean, green gram and chick peas, while most beans are grown in Bago, Yangon, Mandalay, Ayeyawady and Sagaing regions.
