Commerce Ministry will call and meet Singapore Company for rice export to Ivory Coast case

Commerce Ministry will call and meet Singapore Company for rice export to Ivory Coast case
Workers unload non-compliant rice of Burmese origin from a truck at The Kossihouen Waste Disposal and Technical Landfill Centre some 45kms from Abidjan on April 16, 2019, ahead of it's destruction. Photo: Sia Kambou/AFP

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce will meet a Yangon based Singapore company which bought rice from three Myanmar companies and exported it to the Ivory Coast which then had to destroy it.

Ministry of Economy and Commerce permanent secretary Aung Soe said, “Firstly we must listen to the explanation given by this company. And then we will form a team to meet and ask questions of the persons concerned then we will draw conclusions from the meetings. This Singapore Company is Olan International Company based in Singapore.”

According to current examinations made by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, the quality of Myanmar rice has no problem.

Three Myanmar companies Shwe Wah Yaung, Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and Ayer Hinthar, sold Olan International Company with FOB (Freight on Board) sold the rice which met quality standards to the Singapore Company.

Myanmar Rice Federation Vice-Chairman Aung Than Oo also said the rice got soaked with rain while uploading onto the ship and about two to three layers of rice were wet with rainwater and the shipment took about 8 months when it finally reached the port in Africa and because of this the quality of rice was degraded when it reached the final port.

Ministry of Economy and Commerce permanent secretary Aung Soe said that the rice soaked with rainwater should be separated from dry rice and must be covered on the deck by tarpaulin but the vessel MV Ocean Prince failed to do this so the rice soaked with rainwater solidified.

This vessel unloaded about 4,000 tons of Myanmar rice in Guinea and then the port authority stopped them from unloading more rice due to quality standards. Then the vessel continued its journey and finally reached Ivory Coast on April 17 and the port authority decided to destroy the rice of about 18,000 tons for being damaged and not meeting quality standards.

Last year Myanmar exported over 3.2 million tons of rice both low and high grade, Myanmar is one of the five leading exporters in world rice market.