YANGON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar recorded a 13.42-percent decrease in beans and pulses exports year-on-year, amounting to over 424,187 tons during the first quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

Between April 1 and June 30 this year, Myanmar earned more than 333.46 million U.S. dollars from the export of beans and pulses, as compared to 369.813 million U.S. dollars earned from exporting more than 489,985 tons in the same period last year, showed the ministry's figures.

Myanmar exported more than 20 types of beans and pulses to countries including China, India and the European countries during the period. The exported varieties included black grams, green mung beans, chick peas, red kidney beans and butter beans.

"Exports of beans and pulses slightly decreased this year as our price is a little bit higher in the foreign market," U Ye Lin Tun, a beans and pulses exporter, told Xinhua on Friday.

"Black gram and green mung beans are Myanmar's top exported beans and pulses. Black grams were exported to India, and green mung beans were exported to China," he said.

For exporters, who were required to convert 65 percent of their export earnings into local currency kyats with the central bank's reference exchange rate, the Central Bank of Myanmar eased its foreign currency rules in July, allowing them to convert just 50 percent of their earnings.

The central bank's action has led to a slight improvement in the export of beans and pulses, but not a significant one, exporters said.

The central bank's reference exchange rate stood at 2,100 kyats per U.S. dollar on Friday, while the exchange rate at local currency exchange counters stood at around 3,000 kyats per U.S. dollar.

U Min Min, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, told Xinhua, "We will be able to increase our export volume by enhancing the production of beans and pulses. Therefore, we are making cooperation with relevant organizations to boost production."

The Southeast Asian country shipped about 87 percent, or over 369,237 tons, of beans and pulses via sea routes, and transported the remaining about 13 percent, or over 54,950 tons, of beans and pulses through land borders during the three months, the ministry's data said. Myanmar usually does most of its foreign trade through sea routes as it has a long coastline.

According to the Myanmar Pulses, Beans, Maize and Sesame Seeds Merchants Association, Green grams and black grams are the most commonly cultivated beans and pulses in Myanmar, accounting for around 60 to 70 percent of the total production of beans and pulses in the country.

Myanmar exported more than 1.91 million tons of beans and pulses including over 691,399 tons of green grams in the 2022-23 fiscal year, the ministry's figures showed.

Beans and pulses are Myanmar's second-most cultivated crops after rice, accounting for around 33 percent of the country's total agricultural production. Enditem

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