Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - The relationship between Burma and North Korea continues on a steady keel if the North Korean-flagged vessel Tu Man Gang being loaded in Rangoon port is anything to go by.
According to an official source, Burma will export rice to Communist North Korea and the ship is being loaded with bags of rice. Mizzima could not obtain independent verification.
Using a loan-contract system, Burma is selling 160,000 bags of Burma's low-quality (25 per cent broken) rice to North Korea.
The loading of rice bags has already started after the Tu Man Gang docked at Sule Wharf on Monday, according to sources.
An undercover Mizzima correspondent in Rangoon saw the Tu Man Gang and said: “The ship seems to be uploading goods because of her load line. Trucks covered with tarpaulin were also parked on the shore, though I could see no movement of goods. All the trucks have civilian number plates."
According to a source, the rice bags were sold by Myanmar Economic Holdings or a military-owned economic unit.
North Korea has been a regular buyer of Burmese rice since 1993, and the last time a North Korean ship docked in Rangoon harbour was in December 2010.
North Korea is reported to be suffering from food scarcity but imports of food from China appear healthy. The North Korean-China trade volume reached US$ 1.96 billion ($812 million export and $1.148 in imports) so far this year, from January to May. This is double the amount from the same period last year.
Trade dependence on China went up with exports increasing 217 per cent while imports increased by 58 per cent.
Out of the total import of $1.148 billion, food imports such as rice and corn only reached 4 per cent at $46 million. The volume of imports is comparable to the same period last year, with a slight boost from 113,000 tons to 119,000 tons.
According to the Chinese Maritime Custom Service, personal items for the North Korean elite such as alcohol and tobacco was valued at about $10 million for the same period.
