Myanmar has lifted restrictions on trade of rice across the country since early this month, bringing down rice prices in the commercial city of Yangon and the second largest city of Mandalay, a local weekly reported Friday.

Rice prices have dropped to 19,000 Kyats (15.8 US dollars) per bag (51 kilograms) from 22,000 kyats for such rice of superior quality as Paw San and to 10,000 kyats from 12,000 kyats for Nga Sein, rice traders were quoted by the Khit Myanmar as saying.

Rice dealers attributed the fall of rice prices to the free trading of the crop without needing permit any longer to transport across states and divisions.

From August to the end of November, transporting of rice from Yangon to rice-needed regions including Mandalay had to seek permit from the Rice Dealers' Association, traders said. The process took at least a week for the availability of a permit thus affecting the flow of the commodity and creating high rice prices.

Government statistics show that Myanmar's annual output of paddy is 1.2 billion baskets (about 25 million tons) against merely 650 million baskets (about 13 million tons) in 1988.

The annual consumption of rice in the entire country is about 810 million baskets (about 17 million tons).

With triple cropping round the year, Myanmar expects the production of rice and other commodities to increase year by year.

Statistics also indicate that Myanmar exported 180,000 tons of rice in the fiscal year of 2005-06 which ended in March, dropping from 182,000 tons in the previous fiscal year.

Source: Xinhua