Agriculture in Burma - Economic Significance

Economic Significance

Agriculture and the processing of agricultural products provides a majority of the employment and income in Burma, producing around 60% of the national GDP and employing as many as 65% of the population. While Burma yields more than enough food to feed its entire population, many still go hungry for lack of purchasing power.

As of 2007, Burma's main countries of export were Thailand (receiving 44%), India (14.5%), China (7%), and Japan (6%). However, by 2010, China had become a key export partner, receiving 97% of Burmese-produced corn and 9% of beans and pulses. These figures came as a result of increasing Chinese Demand and an increasingly healthy trading relationship. However, over the past ten years, exports have been down: in 2001-2002 Burma exported 939,000 tons of rice and 1,035,000 tons of pulses, whereas in 2010-2011 only 536,000 tons of rice and 920,000 tons of pulses were exported. This could be the result of increased demand for these products within the country, as opposed to a response to decreased production. Moreover, the decrease in emphasis on exporting agricultural goods could reflect a response to the fluctuating value of the Burmese kyat as it relates to other nations' currencies. Instead, attention was directed towards creating "non-traded services," like construction, or to the production of goods with a high "price to cost ratio," like gems, jade and natural gas.