A MYANMAR business delegation will this week visit Bangladesh for trade talks with the Bangladeshi business community.

The delegation will be led by U Win Myint, president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries (UMFCCI).

An official from the UMFCCI said the main focus of negotiations will be the resumption of rice exports to Bangladesh, which have largely been on hold since Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar in May.

“Prior to Cyclone Nargis in May, Bangladesh imported a lot of rice from Myanmar to meet domestic consumption demands. But, since then it has been on hold to a certain extent,” he said.

Bangladesh is one of Myanmar’s top 10 trading partners, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Commerce. Trade volume between the countries stood at US$60 million in 2006 and $61 million in 2007, the statistics show. It is hoped the discussions will lead to further increases in bilateral trade between the two countries.

Bangladesh mostly imports the medium-quality Emata 25 percent purity grade rice from Myanmar. It contains 25pc small broken rice, 15pc large broken rice and 60pc pure rice proportionally. The country also imports rice from Thailand and Pakistan to meet its production shortfall.

Myanmar’s private sector has only been allowed to export rice abroad since late 2007. Between 1962 and 1988, rice trade was controlled by government-run enterprises and exports were primarily to West African countries.

From 1989, the government began allowing the private sector to trade rice domestically.

In 2003, the government itself stopped rice exports to restore stability to prices in the domestic market.

At the end of 2007, the country’s Trade Council altered its policy and began allowing some private companies to export a total of 400,000 tonnes of rice annually from regions with excess production.

Only rice from three regions – Ayerarwady, Bago and Sagaing Divisions – is currently allowed to be exported.