Burma Exported Rice While its Peopl

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Subject: Burma Exported Rice While its People Starved ????

NOTE: Burma Exported Rice While its People Starved ????

"Mangal said practically no exports had gone to Russia this
year, while Myanmar and China had emerged as rice exporters. "
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India 1999
               Reuters
               29-JUL-99

               NEW DELHI, July 29 (Reuters) - India's rice exports in
               1999/2000 (April-March) are expected to fall sharply
               because of uncompetitive prices and a fall in global
demand,
               exporters and trade officials said on Thursday. 

               "The market is bad and our prices are high. Our total
               non-Basmati rice exports cannot be more than 50 percent
of
               last year," said O.P. Mangal, a senior official with the
New
               Delhi-based Space Group. 

               Trade officials said India exported about 3.0 million
tonnes of
               rice in 1998/99. 

               N.R. Seshadri, an official at the state-run Agricultural
and
               Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
               (APEDA), said export registrations so far had reached
only
               700,000 tonnes, compared with 1.4 million in the same
               year-ago period. 

               He said last year Bangladesh had imported about 2.1
million
               tonnes of non-Basmati rice, boosting the country's rice
               exports. 

               But this year it had virtually stopped imports because of
a
               good crop and food aid receipts, he said. 

               He said India's prices were high compared with Thai and
               Vietnamese rice. 

               Trade officials said last year India tried to export rice
to the
               Philippines and Indonesia but without much success. 

               India is targeting the Indonesian market this year
besides
               continuing exports to South Africa, other African
countries
               and the Middle East, trade officials said. 

               Mangal said practically no exports had gone to Russia
this
               year, while Myanmar and China had emerged as rice
               exporters. 

               A senior Food Ministry official said last week India
planned to

               fix a ceiling on exports of non-Basmati rice to ensure
               sufficient availability for domestic markets and to keep
local
               prices in check. 

               The official said the ministry had sent a proposal to the
               cabinet that unlimited non-Basmati rice exports should
not be
               allowed. 

               Seshadri said APEDA was not aware of any export ban. 

               "We have not been informed of any ban. We are continuing
               to register," he said. 

               ((Hari Ramachandran, New Delhi Newsroom
               +91-11-301-2024 Fax +91-11-301-4043,
               delhi.newsroom+reuters.com))