) Pulses
The production of pulses in Myanmar underwent a remarkable development in both output and
exports after the liberalization of agricultural marketing in 1987.20 It should be emphasized,
however, that from the outset, the success of this sector was not really intended by the government.
Indeed the government showed relatively little interest and the expansion in the production of pulses
was led exclusively by the private sector. The government appreciated the sector’s success in later
years and attempted to obtain part of the benefit of expansion by introducing a procurement system
at the end of 1990s. This, however, did not succeed.21
Among the 17 varieties of pulses produced in Myanmar, the three varieties of black gram, green
gram and pigeon pea are particularly important. These three pulses account for between 80 and 90%
of total exports by value. The main export destination is India (Table 10). The emergence of the large
Indian market was a key factor underlying the development of pulse cultivation in Myanmar.
In India, after the Green Revolution in the mid-1960s, production shifted to rice and wheat at
the expense of pulse cultivation. The increase of pulse imports from Myanmar was the result of
stagnation in domestic production of pulses as well as the relaxation of import regulations by the
Indian government after 1991, when economic liberalization got underway (UN 1997, p.41, Rao
1994, p.146). By 2002/03, pulses from Myanmar came to account for about 40% of India’s total
pulse imports.
Since there is no government regulation for exporting pulses from Myanmar (except for the
10% export tax), the import demand of India was transmitted directly to Myanmar’s market, pushing
domestic pulse prices in Myanmar upward (Table 2). The close linkage between the domestic and
international prices of pulses is clearly shown in Figure 5.
The increase in the acreage sown to pulses has been quite striking. Total acreage under the