With Myanmar’s agriculture sector being the country’s largest employer, the sector has seen little improvement in agricultural productivity, with more than 90 percent of total rice mills in Myanmar using outdated machinery. Most of the rice produced in the country is of low quality and unsuitable for foreign export markets.

The Government of Myanmar has set a goal of exporting 4 million metric tons of rice by 2020 and attracting foreign investment to the rice milling sector, would be a key step towards boosting exports, required for improving rice production and processing.

The government should also take steps such as improving water management, providing land tenure security and making investments in rural roads that connect farms to markets. Other short term measures include easy availability of commercial loans to rice millers, establishing a predictable trade policy, lowering port charges and reducing export procedure costs.