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Zomi says:
Myanmar MAY import rice? Why "MAY"? Why has the SPDC not decided to
import
rice? The people need clean wateter, edible food and shelter. What kind of
government is this? Myanmar MUST import rice!
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Myanmar May Import Rice After Cyclone, Chookiat Says (Update2)
By Rattaphol Onsanit and [bn:PRSN=1] Catherine Yang []
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May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar may import rice because of damage to the
crops
from the tropical cyclone, according to the head of the Thai Rice
Exporters
Association.
``We know that the damage is huge,'' Chookiat Ophaswongse, the
association's
president, said today in an interview on Bloomberg Television. ``But we
will
have to wait for a while'' to know the extent of the devastation, he said.
The death toll from the cyclone that slammed into Myanmar three days ago
rose to 10,000, according to the military government, making the storm
Southeast Asia's deadliest natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. About
3,000 people are missing in the Irrawaddy delta region alone, an important
rice-growing area, Myanmar government ministers told diplomats yesterday,
the United Nations news agency IRIN said.
The country would probably have exported about 400,000 tons of rice this
year because of soaring global prices, up from normal shipments of less
than
100,000 tons, Chookiat said. The storm will ``jeopardize'' exports and
``it's possible for them that they have to import some,'' he said.
Increased purchases may tighten global supplies. The price of the staple
food for half the world almost doubled in the past year because of supply
curbs by China, Egypt, Vietnam and India, and reached a record $25.07 per
100 pounds on the Chicago Board of Trade April 24. Thailand is the biggest
exporter.
`Self-Sufficient'
Power was knocked out in the former capital, Yangon, and drinking water
was
contaminated in the city of 5 million people. ``At least eight townships
are
completely or mostly destroyed,'' said Pamela Sitko, a worker with the
U.S.-based Christian relief group World Vision, who has spoken with
colleagues in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
``Normally they are self-sufficient'' in rice, Chookiat said. ``But we
know
the cyclone has damaged a lot of things.''
Myanmar was forecast to export 400,000 tons of rice in 2007-08, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture said April 9. That was double the agency's March
estimate. The country was expected to produce 11.3 million tons in the
current year, up from 10.6 million tons the year before, the USDA said.
Cyclone Nargis packed winds of 120 miles (190 kilometers) per hour when it
struck the coast May 3, sending the sea surging as much 12 feet (3.5
meters).
The government declared a state of emergency in five low- lying provinces,
mostly in the rice-growing Irrawaddy delta, where villages were flattened
by
winds and rain, the UN said. Myanmar has a population of 47.8 million.
The price of food surged after the cyclone struck, according to the
Irrawaddy newspaper, which is published by Myanmar dissidents in
neighboring
Thailand. An egg now costs between 200 and 250 kyat (20 cents) in Yangon
versus 50-70 kyat before the storm, while one viss (1.6 kilograms) of pork
is between 8,000 and 8,500 kyat, compared with 4,500 to 5,000.
To contact the reporters on this story: Rattaphol Onsanit in Bangkok at
ronsanit@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Catherine Yang in Hong Kong at
cyyang@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Updated: May 5, 2008 23:02 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a8xtlcb0j_ks&refer=home
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