Myanmar Produces 200,000 Tons of Ed

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Myanmar Produces 200,000 Tons of Edible Oil Annually

Xinhua, Rangoon, 22 August 2000   Myanmar produces 200,000 tons
of edible oil annually while importing 100,000 tons of such oil to
help fulfill its domestic demand, says the Myanmar Facts and
Figures booklet currently published by the country's Ministry of Information.

In addition to cultivation of major oil crops such as groundnut, sesame,
sunflower and mustard, cultivation of soy bean and oil palm is also being
extended for extracting edible oil.

Myanmar annually cultivates over 650,000 hectares of oil crops, of which
over 450,000 hectares are covered by groundnut, while over 200,000 hectares
by sunflower.

According to official disclosure, annual import of edible oil is valued at 
72.6 million
U.S. dollars.

To gradually reduce the import of edible oil, Myanmar has leased out large
plots of vacant and virgin lands to private entrepreneurs and provided the oil
crop growers with agricultural loans and advance payment for the purchase
of the crops.