Aung Zaya
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Myanmar to export 200,000 tonnes of rice to EU
Myanmar expects to earn US$1 billion on exports of 200,000 tonnes of rice to European Union countries during the 2015-16 fiscal year, according to Ye Min Aubg, the secretary of the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Federation.
“We want to earn US$1 billion because at this moment we are getting between $6 million and to $7 million from the rice and paddy sector. Fewer exports than imports causes instability in the currency exchange rate. So we need to promote the export sector. Promoting the rice and paddy sector will benefit both farmers and merchants. And we will control the quality of the rice we sell. If we export low-quality rice, we won’t get paid enough. But if we export good-quality rice, not only will we get paid a good price, but also will not have to export as many tonnes of rice,” said Ye Min Aung.
He added that the rice export sector was officially promoted in 2010.
In previous years, Myanmar has exported rice to EU countries such as Belgium, Denmark and Poland.
Myanmar exported 1.4 million tonnes of rice in the 2012-13 fiscal year, 1.3 million tonnes in 2013-14 and 1.8 million tonnes of rice in 2014-15.
Myanmar, Thailand destroy nearly $1 bn in seized drugs
YANGON: Myanmar and Thailand on Friday (June 26) destroyed nearly $1 billion of seized narcotics to mark World Drugs Day, as the UN said East and Southeast Asia remained the world's biggest markets for synthetic drugs and heroin.
Authorities in Myanmar said drugs worth around $245 million were crushed under a steamroller or torched in three locations including the commercial hub Yangon.
The country, which is emerging from years of military rule, has long-struggled to control illegal drug production especially in its border areas where ethnic rebel groups are still active.
The "Golden Triangle" region, which covers parts of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, was formerly one of the world's top producers of opium and heroin, until the emergence of Afghanistan as a drugs production hub.
Myanmar's eastern Shan state accounts for nearly all of the illegal poppy cultivation in the country, which remains the world's second largest opium producer.
Much of the raw material is believed to be smuggled across the border for processing into heroin in China, which is home to the world's largest number of addicts.
In Thailand authorities torched nearly 9.5 tons of drugs with a street value of nearly $600 million.
"Around 66 million pills of methamphetamine, 798 kilograms (1,750 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine, heroin weighing over 418 kilograms" were among the drugs burned, according to a Public Health Ministry statement.
The ministry also said nearly 150,000 people have entered drug treatment in the last eight months.
The value of the drugs burned is twice the amount at last year's ceremony, in a sign of the Thai junta's tough stance on drugs.
In its annual report marking World Drugs Day, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said authorities in East and Southeast Asia seized 12 tons of heroin, the third straight increase in as many years.
But the region also "reported the highest number of synthetic drug seizures in the world" it said in a statement.
Asia remains the largest market for opium and heroin, accounting for an estimated two-thirds of all users globally.
Meanwhile methamphetamine, which is known as "yaba", or crazy medicine, in Thailand, dominates the global market for synthetic drugs "and is expanding significantly in East and South-East Asia", the UNODC added.
The body also urged governments and donor nations to pour cash into helping poor farmers find alternatives to illicit crops such as opium.
Myanmar panel proposes minimum wage of K3600
A national committee has proposed a nationwide minimum daily wage of 3600 kyat ($3.20) for all workers at the conclusion of a year of often heated debate between the Myanmar government, employers and labour representatives, the country’s media has reported.
A union representative and a Kayin state labour ministry official, both members of the national minimum wage committee, disclosed the figure to a leading Myanmar newspaper on the final day of a closed-door meeting in Yangon that appeared to deal a blow in particular to the garment industry.
Labour minister and committee chair U Aye Myint declined to confirm the amount. He told the newspaper that the minimum wage might be set between K3200 and K4000 and that the exact figure would be officially announced over the next few days.
“It is sure that the minimum wage cannot be less than K3000, even if we can’t say how much it is fixed exactly at this moment,” he told a press conference after the meeting. Ahead of the closed-door meeting Myint had promised to determine a proposed minimum wage for garment factory workers by the end of this month, despite strong opposition from employers.
Two months of consultations will be held after the proposal is officially announced, and before the issue goes to parliament for a final decision.
The committee made its decision on June 24 after a two-day workshop that brought together the labour ministry, employers and trade union representatives organised by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce (UMFCCI).
The committee, formed a year ago, includes the labour ministry, the national planning and social welfare departments, officials from states and regions, and labour and employer representatives.
Most committee members were said to be in favour of a proposed minimum wage of K3600 as a basis for the whole country. A day earlier, labour representatives had argued for K4000.
But the meeting was unable to reach a decision until the evening as representatives of the garment industry were insisting on a lower amount.
“The garment representatives made strong arguments on wages. They had been demanding wages as low as K2500,” said U Naw Aung, a labour delegate on the committee.
He said workers’ representatives appreciated that the committee agreed on a proposed K3600, even if it was less than they had pushed for, because there was an urgent need to settle the issue. Unions would now have a minimum wage on which to base proposed adjustments, he added. (SH)
Myanmar expects to earn US$1 billion on exports of 200,000 tonnes of rice to European Union countries during the 2015-16 fiscal year, according to Ye Min Aubg, the secretary of the Myanmar Rice and Paddy Federation.
“We want to earn US$1 billion because at this moment we are getting between $6 million and to $7 million from the rice and paddy sector. Fewer exports than imports causes instability in the currency exchange rate. So we need to promote the export sector. Promoting the rice and paddy sector will benefit both farmers and merchants. And we will control the quality of the rice we sell. If we export low-quality rice, we won’t get paid enough. But if we export good-quality rice, not only will we get paid a good price, but also will not have to export as many tonnes of rice,” said Ye Min Aung.
He added that the rice export sector was officially promoted in 2010.
In previous years, Myanmar has exported rice to EU countries such as Belgium, Denmark and Poland.
Myanmar exported 1.4 million tonnes of rice in the 2012-13 fiscal year, 1.3 million tonnes in 2013-14 and 1.8 million tonnes of rice in 2014-15.
Myanmar, Thailand destroy nearly $1 bn in seized drugs
YANGON: Myanmar and Thailand on Friday (June 26) destroyed nearly $1 billion of seized narcotics to mark World Drugs Day, as the UN said East and Southeast Asia remained the world's biggest markets for synthetic drugs and heroin.
Authorities in Myanmar said drugs worth around $245 million were crushed under a steamroller or torched in three locations including the commercial hub Yangon.
The country, which is emerging from years of military rule, has long-struggled to control illegal drug production especially in its border areas where ethnic rebel groups are still active.
The "Golden Triangle" region, which covers parts of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, was formerly one of the world's top producers of opium and heroin, until the emergence of Afghanistan as a drugs production hub.
Myanmar's eastern Shan state accounts for nearly all of the illegal poppy cultivation in the country, which remains the world's second largest opium producer.
Much of the raw material is believed to be smuggled across the border for processing into heroin in China, which is home to the world's largest number of addicts.
In Thailand authorities torched nearly 9.5 tons of drugs with a street value of nearly $600 million.
"Around 66 million pills of methamphetamine, 798 kilograms (1,750 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine, heroin weighing over 418 kilograms" were among the drugs burned, according to a Public Health Ministry statement.
The ministry also said nearly 150,000 people have entered drug treatment in the last eight months.
The value of the drugs burned is twice the amount at last year's ceremony, in a sign of the Thai junta's tough stance on drugs.
In its annual report marking World Drugs Day, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said authorities in East and Southeast Asia seized 12 tons of heroin, the third straight increase in as many years.
But the region also "reported the highest number of synthetic drug seizures in the world" it said in a statement.
Asia remains the largest market for opium and heroin, accounting for an estimated two-thirds of all users globally.
Meanwhile methamphetamine, which is known as "yaba", or crazy medicine, in Thailand, dominates the global market for synthetic drugs "and is expanding significantly in East and South-East Asia", the UNODC added.
The body also urged governments and donor nations to pour cash into helping poor farmers find alternatives to illicit crops such as opium.
Myanmar panel proposes minimum wage of K3600
A national committee has proposed a nationwide minimum daily wage of 3600 kyat ($3.20) for all workers at the conclusion of a year of often heated debate between the Myanmar government, employers and labour representatives, the country’s media has reported.
A union representative and a Kayin state labour ministry official, both members of the national minimum wage committee, disclosed the figure to a leading Myanmar newspaper on the final day of a closed-door meeting in Yangon that appeared to deal a blow in particular to the garment industry.
Labour minister and committee chair U Aye Myint declined to confirm the amount. He told the newspaper that the minimum wage might be set between K3200 and K4000 and that the exact figure would be officially announced over the next few days.
“It is sure that the minimum wage cannot be less than K3000, even if we can’t say how much it is fixed exactly at this moment,” he told a press conference after the meeting. Ahead of the closed-door meeting Myint had promised to determine a proposed minimum wage for garment factory workers by the end of this month, despite strong opposition from employers.
Two months of consultations will be held after the proposal is officially announced, and before the issue goes to parliament for a final decision.
The committee made its decision on June 24 after a two-day workshop that brought together the labour ministry, employers and trade union representatives organised by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce (UMFCCI).
The committee, formed a year ago, includes the labour ministry, the national planning and social welfare departments, officials from states and regions, and labour and employer representatives.
Most committee members were said to be in favour of a proposed minimum wage of K3600 as a basis for the whole country. A day earlier, labour representatives had argued for K4000.
But the meeting was unable to reach a decision until the evening as representatives of the garment industry were insisting on a lower amount.
“The garment representatives made strong arguments on wages. They had been demanding wages as low as K2500,” said U Naw Aung, a labour delegate on the committee.
He said workers’ representatives appreciated that the committee agreed on a proposed K3600, even if it was less than they had pushed for, because there was an urgent need to settle the issue. Unions would now have a minimum wage on which to base proposed adjustments, he added. (SH)
