Myanmar is planning to establish special beans and pulses cultivation zones across the country to produce the quality crops to boost export, according to the Beans and Pulses Traders' Association.

Pilot projects for the establishment are being launched in Magway division's Aung Lan and measures have been taken to extend growing and production of high yield strain beans and pulses for the purpose.

Beans and pulses are among the 10 major items of agricultural crops that Myanmar grow. Among them, gram, lablab bean, pigeon pea,butter bean and soya bean are cultivated most in the country.

The export items of beans and pulses cover green gram, pigeon pea, soya bean, cow pea and Myehtaukpe.

In order to boost export, the government has asked growers to cultivate more marketable items of the crops and transform them into value-added ones.

Along with the plan, the commerce authorities are also encouraging traders in the country to set up a public company aimed at effectively penetrating the world beans market.

The prospective public company is reported to be set up under the name of "Golden Land East Asia Development Ltd" which will group companies of beans and pulses and sesame, related entrepreneurs and traders.

Myanmar has become the second largest beans and pulses exporter in the world after Canada and topped beans exporter in Asia with India standing as Myanmar's largest buyer of the crops which accounted for 72 percent of Myanmar's total beans export.

The country's beans and pulses gained the Japanese market most in the past but are weak in competitiveness in winning the European market for its quality.

The establishment of special beans and pulses cultivation zones is aimed at yielding such quality agricultural crops to be exported further to European and Middle East markets.

Previously, Myanmar exported one million tons of beans and pulses annually mainly by sea route but it has been replaced by land route through border points to neighboring countries in most recent years.

According to figures from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Myanmar exported 900,000 tons of various items of beans and pulses up to January in the fiscal year of 2006-07 (April-March), compared with 1.2 million tons in 2003-04 and 800,000 tons in 2001-02.

Beans and pulses are generally grown across Myanmar but the government restricted the trading of them to the state sector in the past until 1988 when it was liberalized to the private sector in line with the emergence of a market-oriented economic system and consequently the production of the crops has grown.

According to official statistics, since 1988-89, the cultivated area of beans and pulses has gradually grown year by year, reaching 3.6 million hectares in 2004-05 with a production of up to 3.5 million tons.

Beans and pulses, like other agricultural crops such as rice, would stand as one of the mainstay of the country's economy, local observers said.

According to official statistics, the agricultural sector, which accounts for 41.2 percent of Myanmar's national economy and 11 percent of the export, grew 11.8 percent in the fiscal year of 2005-06.

Source:Xinhua