Deputy Commerce Minister Aung Htoo said that they were changing the base price of rice paddy and it was important that this should not affect the forthcoming 2020 general elections.

He said these words at the opening address delivered at the Rice Market and Price Reviewing Advisory Working Committee meeting held at the commerce ministry office on August 30.

“The fixing of the paddy base price is a very sensitive matter. We must fix a probable and practical price.

Overpricing is good but underpricing will have implications in politics as we had had seen protest demonstrations last summer over this matter. We must take utmost care in fixing the paddy base price as next year is the year of the general elections,” Aung Htoo said. 

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation will fix the paddy base price based on production costs, and a survey conducted by asking questions of experienced traders and millers, farmers, experts and academics.

Dy. Minister Aung Htoo added that demand and supply of paddy in the market should also be taken into consideration in fixing the new paddy base price.

“The new base paddy price must be win-win situation for both producers and traders. The new price must be calculated correctly and we must give assurance to this new base price. For doing this we must submit our new base price calculated by this committee and production costs to the leading committee to obtain their guidance,” the deputy minister said.

The last paddy base price for 2018 was 500,000 kyats for 100 baskets of paddy. (1 basket = 46 lbs)

The Federation of Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders issued a press statement which says rice mills and rice traders from this federation will buy the paddy at the base price when the regional market price is below this base price.

Deputy Minister Aung Htoo said that his commerce ministry would hold a price support fund of 15 billion kyats withdrawn from the State until the end of the 2029 financial year as the paddy price for this year is above the production costs.

The fixing and approval of this new paddy base price is being done to be completed at the end of coming October and it is not yet known how much it will be.