Myanmar Lifts Rice Export Ban

The Government of Myanmar has lifted a ban on rice exports imposed after Cyclone Nargis devastated swathes of crucial agricultural land in the southwest delta

Myanmar banned rice exports after Cyclone Nargis in May this year that left about 138,000 dead or missing and wiped out 85 % of rice seed stocks in the delta. More than 2.4 million people were affected by the storm.

Myanmar was not a major exporter of the staple grain, but the cyclone had a massive impact on fertile land crucial for domestic food stocks. When rice prices soared earlier this year amid global supply concerns, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh clinched deals with the military government to buy Myanmar's small surplus, but then the cyclone hit and exports were suspended.