Myanmar Expects Bigger Pulse Harvest

WASHINGTON - Jun 24/20 - SNS -- Production of all classes of dry edible beans and pulses is expected to increase 3% this year in Myanmar, as farmers respond to improved demand from India for black matpe and toor or pigeon peas.

The U.S. agricultural attache for the country believes this will see exports reach at least 1.5 million metric tons (MT), though there is a chance they could end up closer to 1.6 million given the impact rising production would be expected to have in prices.

Myanmar grows about 24 types of beans and pulses, including black matpe (black gram), toor whole (pigeon pea), mung bean (green gram), soybean, chick pea, butter bean, cow pea, lima bean, black eyed bean, ground nut, and kidney bean. Contrary to the United States, Myanmar categorizes soybeans and ground nuts as beans and pulses. It is important to note that soybean production is insignificant relative to all pulses.

In Myanmar, beans and pulses are normally grown immediately after the harvest of the main rice crop in the delta region (lower parts of Myanmar) and are grown as a monsoon crop in the central plain areas and in Shan State (southeastern part of country)

. About 70% of all beans and pulses are grown during the winter season with residual soil moisture, which reflects the yield per unit area. The yields range between 1,000 and 1,300 kilograms hectare. Black matpe, Mung bean, and Toor whole accounted for 70-75% of total pulse production and were the largest exported varieties.

Black matpe is cultivated in the winter season (starting from October) and is harvested in March to April. Mung Bean is grown in two seasons: the winter season (starting October), which is harvested in February to April, and the rainy season (starting from July, August), which is harvested in November to January. Toor whole (Pigeon pea) is grown over a longer period (about 6-7 months) than other beans and pulses, is mostly grown in monsoon season (May to June), and is harvested in January to March. Myanmar produced more than 1.3 million MT of Black matpe, about 1.5 million MT of Mung bean, and more than 500,000 MT of Toor whole in 2019-20.