AN Australian company has expressed interest in buying US$37.2 million worth of fruit, vegetables and other crops from Myanmar this year, said a senior official from the Ministry of Commerce.

An assistant general manager at Myanma Agricultural Produce Trading, U Han Thar Tun, said Sydney-based Suntree International Pty. Ltd. had made the expression of interest in a letter to the ministry last December.

U Han Thar Tun said the ministry had put the company in touch with exporters which may be able to satisfy its needs.

The development had highlighted the export potential of a range of crops, he said.

U Han Thar Tun said the produce Suntree International was interested in buying sesame seeds, tomatoes, mangoes, musk melons, ginger, chilis, custard apples, pineapples and baby corn.

U Han Thar Tun said the company had also expressed interest in buying value-added products such as mango juice and dried tomatoes. Technology would need to be improved at processing plants before such products could be exported, he said.

“This is a request from one company; similar requests may be made by other companies if we are in a position to meet demand,” U Han Thar Tun said.

He said mangoes, custard apples, musk melons and ginger had the greatest export potential.

U Han Thar Tun said some agricultural products, such as mangoes and musk melons, were exported only through border trade. Improving the quality of such produce would help to attract buyers in high-income markets such as Australia.

He said that to ensure self-sufficiency, sesame and some other products could not be exported.

However, the ministry would issue permits for produce grown in areas designated for export crops, U Han Thar Tun said.

He also revealed that the ministry had established a market research and information team as part of its drive to promote exports of agricultural products.

U Han Thar Tun heads the team, which began work last month and is comprised of representatives of the Department of Border Trade, the Directorate of Trade and Myanma Agricultural Produce Trading, all of which are under the ministry.

He said the team would monitor domestic and international prices of farm produce to identify which crops had the best export potential.

It would also propose which crops should not be exported to ensure domestic self-sufficiency, U Han Thar Tun said.

U Han Thar Tun said the team’s proposals will be forwarded to senior government officials for a decision.

“We are just at the beginning stage; research activities will begin after the team has had a year’s experience in gathering information,” he said.

One of the team’s functions will be to provide information to foreign companies interested in investing in the agricultural produce sector.