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Reuters-The latest lie of myanmar a



Reply-To: "TIN KYI" <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Reuters-The latest lie of myanmar animal

Myanmar says no cause for worry over rice supply
06:02 a.m. Oct 27, 1999 Eastern
YANGON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A senior member of Myanmar's military government
has said the country's rice supplies are plentiful and the government is
selling off surplus stocks to stabilise soaring prices.

Official data shows the price of emahta rice, a 20 percent broken variety
which is the most popular brand among low income consumers, almost doubled
between August 1999 and the same month last year.

``There is nothing to worry about rice as there is more than enough stock
for the people,'' said Lieutenant-General Tin Oo, secretary two of the
ruling military council.

Speaking at the opening of a cultural show on Tuesday, he said the
government had already purchased 112.6 million baskets of unhulled rice
paddy, enough to provide for military personnel for the next two years. One
basket of paddy weighs about 20 kg.

``The government is selling the surplus rice in hand to ensure stability in
rice prices since they tend to fluctuate within the three or four months
after July,'' Tin Oo said.

The price of emahta rice jumped to 170 kyats per pyi (two kg) in August
1999, against 95 kyats a year earlier and 65 kyats in August 1997.

Local analysts blame the price increase on galloping inflation estimated at
more than 40 percent a year, panic buying and mismanagement by some
government officials.

One government official said Myanmar had sufficient rice to export if it
wanted to but world prices were unattractive.

``With the prices of rice soaring in the domestic market and stagnating in
the world market, it may no longer be commercially viable to boost rice
exports,'' he said.

According to official statistics, Myanmar exported 123,000 tonnes of rice in
the fiscal year to the end of March, against 28,000 in 1997/98, 93,100 in
1996/97 and 354,000 in 1995/96.

Myanmar's record export year for rice was 1934 under British colonial rule,
when it shipped out 3.4 million tonnes.

($ - 350 kyat at open market street rate)