CHINA’S misfortunes are proving to be Myanmar’s gains, as sesame seed traders in Mandalay last week reported a surge in demand following a string of disasters that have hit China’s grain production.

Traders at the Mandalay Commodity Centre were celebrating strong prices for sesame seeds, which climbed 19 percent for some varieties over several days due to orders from China.

“An increase in prices in such a short period is unbelievable,” said U Ko Ko Gyi, vice chairman of the centre in Chanaye Tharzan township.

“Prices are the strongest they have ever been… much higher than they were last year,” he said, comparing the July 25 price of K100,000 for a 45-viss (72kg) bag of white sesame seeds with the K55,000 it would have fetched a year ago.
White sesame seeds showed the greatest gains, increasing from K80,000 per bag a week earlier. Brown sesame seeds were K79,000 per 45-viss bag, up from K69,000, while red sesame seeds also gained K10,000 per bag to reach K78,000 on July 25.

U Ko Ko Gyi said daily trading in sesame seeds had risen by about 50pc from early July to 4000 bags a day last week.

“The high demand from China is mainly due to severe rains and flooding there, which have destroyed crops in some areas,” explained U Mya Maung, a trader at the centre.

“Normally, demand from China picks up in early September but this year the orders are coming earlier than usual.”

The Chinese government said last week that floods and other natural disasters were hurting the country’s grain output, raising the prospect of higher food prices in the world’s most populous nation.

“Agricultural production is facing various problems, including flooding, drought, typhoon, plant diseases and insect pests,” China’s agriculture ministry said in a statement on July 23.

The ministry called on farmers to expand late-harvest planting of rice and other crops to help make up for losses.

“A loss in grain output this year is inevitable,” the state-run China Daily quoted Chen Sufen, the head of an 11,300-acre farm in northeast China’s Liaoning province, as saying. Chen told the newspaper she was expecting grain output at her farm to fall by 20pc this year.

Myanmar’s next sesame seed harvest is due in mid-August, although traders in Mandalay said the surge in orders from China could see local stocks rapidly depleted.