Rice is one of Myanmar’s significant agricultural exports to China and  the rice traders here are expecting the rice trade to increase this year. The traders were facing a decreased rice demand in the market but the demand picked up after the Thingyan festival which concluded on April 16, 2016. After the festival concluded the new summer rice was introduced in the market and it has been seeing good demand. One of the reasons for low demand earlier was the increase in rice prices in the local market. However, after the price for 20.9 kilograms of rice dropped down to US $16 which is equivalent to 20,000 Kyats the demand picked up again.
Myanmar’s largest border trade zone is located in northern Shan State which is also home to many paddy fields. Through this trade zone, besides agricultural products Myanmar also exports fish and imports consumer goods, electronics and machinery. In the fiscal year 2015-2016, the total border trade value for Myanmar was US $ 7.04 billion which is expected to go higher this year.