"India, which imposed a quota system for pulse crops from Myanmar in March this year, continued buying local black gram after the quota was met last month said U Min Ko Oo, secretary of the Myanmar Pulses, Beans and Sesame Seeds Merchants Association. According to U Min Ko Oo, three companies received permission from the Indian government to continue buying the crop from Myanmar, pushing up prices locally. In the first week of October, the price of black gram was around K80,000 per tonne, but now it is up to about K1.3 million per tonne, he added. “Indian companies are buying black gram again because, reportedly, the crop in India was poorer than expected. They have been buying 3000 to 4000 tonnes a week from Myanmar since the third week of October,” said U Min Ko Oo. “They already bought a lot of black gram from Myanmar under the quota system at lower prices, but now they are continuing to buy at higher prices,” said U Kyaw Twin, a bean merchant based in Mandalay. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, some 77 percent of Myanmar’s annual pulse crop is exported to India..."