Overview
This project aimed to understand Myanmar’s export/domestic market opportunities to strengthen the complete value chain and benefit smallholder farmers.
Pulses are one of Myanmar’s most important crop groups with respect to production and exports. Myanmar’s pulses sector is currently vulnerable to market fluctuations given its heavy reliance on India and China as trade partners. Market development is critical to shifting the pulses sector to become demand-driven, identifying untapped or underutilised markets as well as value addition opportunities.
The pulses market development analysis aims to understand Myanmar’s export/domestic market opportunities – involving the identification of potential trade partners, understanding which pulse types or pulse alternatives are in demand (current and future), identifying value add opportunities for pulses and understanding how much customers are willing to pay for each of these commodities.
A value chain analysis will then be undertaken to identify areas which require investment to better access existing and new market opportunities, and to maximise the benefits returned to smallholder farmers. Market development information will also assist the Myanmar Government with trade policy and trade agreement negotiations.
Project outcomes
- Completing a market trend analysis to determine Myanmar’s current positioning in the global pulses markets and opportunities to improve/secure its position.
- Performing a Myanmar country analysis to understand the country’s current market performance and capacity to better access existing and new market opportunities, to deliver higher value/returns to Myanmar smallholders, and to assess the country’s readiness for change.
- Identifying value chain improvements required to meet market requirements and maximise returns to smallholders. This includes consideration of storage, logistics, aggregators (village collectors, local traders, assembly market traders/commodity exchanges), sorting and processing, and quality assurance/control.
- Undertaking preliminary stakeholder engagement activities with potential partners who can help drive the changes required in the pulse value chains.
- Developing in-country capacity to execute market development analyses by working with a suitable Myanmar partner(s) and produce a framework for future market development analyses.
- Providing recommendations on developing and coordinating an ecosystem of stakeholders:
- Across the entire value chain (producer to consumer), who will drive the value chain improvements required to better access the market opportunities identified.
- Peripheral to the value chain but critical to creating the enabling environment necessary to facilitate value chain improvements (for example, government, financial services and technology).
