Key findings

To understand the effects of COVID-19 and political instability on Myanmar’s crop trade sector, a phone survey of commodity traders was conducted in September 2021.

Key Findings

To understand how Myanmar’s crop marketing system has been affected by political instability, phone interviews were conducted in May with 78 agricultural commodity traders.

Key Findings:

The past decade has seen a resurgence of interest in the role of mechanization in agricultural development.

Trade flow among the countries determines the economic benefits countries gain from trade. For many Asian developing countries, agricultural and food trade is an important engine for agricultural growth.

International inorganic fertilizer prices and shipping costs substantially increased in 2021 compared to a year earlier.

To understand how Myanmar’s crop marketing system has been affected by political instability, telephone interviews were conducted in March with 108 agricultural commodity traders.

Agri-food exports are important for Myanmar’s economic takeoff, in particular for the transformation of agri-food systems.

To continue monitoring the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Myanmar’s diverse rural and urban communities, a multi-round large-scale community telephone survey is being conducted.

To better understand the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Myanmar’s diverse rural and urban communities, a multi-round large-scale community telephone survey is being conducted.

To understand how Myanmar’s crop marketing system has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis, phone interviews were conducted with more than 100 agricultural commodity traders roughly every 30 days from late May until early August 2020.

Myanmar has been fortunate in thus far having one of the lowest caseloads of COVID-19 per population globally, with under 400 confirmed cases as of early August.

Smallholder farmers in developing countries face substantial constraints that limit their ability to reach their production potential. Two constraints—risk exposure and limited access to liquidity—pose particular challenges.

Crop traders comprise the mid-stream of Myanmar’s food supply chain, forming important links between farms and food processors, exporters, commodity exchange centers, and urban food markets.

Crop traders comprise the mid-stream of Myanmar’s food supply chain. They form important links between farms and food processors, exporters, and other downstream actors.

The measures taken by the Government of Myanmar to contain the transmission of COVID-19 are a necessary and appropriate response.