Govt to beef up rice and palm oil reserves

The government is planning to beef up the national rice and palm oil reserves for emergencies in case the COVID-19 outbreak drags on.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced in an April 22 statement that it will buy and stockpile 50,000 tonnes of rice and 12,000 tonnes of palm oil as reserve food for emergencies. It also added that the ministry will purchase the items at a reasonable price.

“We would like to inform the public that there is no need to worry about the supply of rice. We have sufficient supply of rice in the country. The government is planning to buy 10 percent of the amount of rice exports, which is 50,000 tonnes,” commerce minister U Thant Myint said.

The MOC said it has already received funds to procure the supplies needed.

The ministry is also working on the national reserve food plan with the private sector as well as the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Myanmar Rice Federation and Myanmar Edible Oil Dealers’ Association.