PHNOM PENH: Award-winning Pawsan rice could offer a lifeline to Myanmar’s farmers, who are grappling with floods, rising production costs and conflict.
The chemical-free, short-grain variety is cost-effective to cultivate and commands premium prices, helping farmers to command higher prices and potentially boost their earnings.
The government is encouraging extensive cultivation of this white grain, which could boost the nation’s rice industry and strengthen its position in the global rice market alongside leading regional producers such as Thailand and Vietnam.
"Pawsan is the most popular premium rice in the domestic market. It is special because of its natural aroma and smooth eating quality. It is Myanmar’s heritage rice,” Myanmar Rice Federation’s Advisor Lwin Oo told Bernama.
Pawsan was named the World’s Best Rice at the International World Rice Conference 2026 in Manila, Philippines, in early October. It first won the title in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 2011.
Rice production remains a key sector of the Southeast Asian nation’s economy, which also relies heavily on other agricultural exports such as cotton, oil seeds, maize, mangoes, pulses, and beans.
Myanmar exported over 2.74 million metric tonnes of rice and broken rice from April 2025 to March 2026, generating US$861 million (RM3.5 billion), according to the federation.
However, Pawsan accounts for less than one per cent of the country’s total rice exports, mostly targeted for the United States and Japan.
Farmers cultivated the variety on about 500 hectares during last year's monsoon paddy season, Lwin Oo said.
"Pawsan is grown mainly in Shwebo Township in Sagaing Region and in the Ayeyarwady Region, and it does not thrive in unfamiliar areas. Farmers must choose their pesticides carefully because not every product suits the crop, and Pawsan prefers a day-night temperature difference of at least 10 degrees Celsius,” he said.
The government and the federation are now seeking to turn Pawsan into a premium national brand under the slogan "A New Era for Myanmar Paw San,” aiming to export three million metric tonnes of high-quality rice next year, which could lift the economic status of Myanmar farmers.
The renewed focus on Pawsan comes as Myanmar’s rice industry faces pressure from floods, rising fuel and fertiliser costs and sporadic conflicts in parts of the country.
The United States Department of Agriculture's April report forecasts an eight per cent decline in Myanmar's milled rice production in 2026/27, as a reduction in planted area and lower yields weigh on output, while exports are expected to remain flat.
Against this backdrop, improving quality could prove crucial, with Pawsan offering farmers an opportunity to earn higher returns from every hectare cultivated.
After being crowned for the second time, Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing encouraged farmers to expand its cultivation to help transform the country's rice industry.
"If high-quality Pawsan rice could be exported as premium rice, it would not only boost foreign exchange earnings but also ensure fair prices and income for farmers,” he said at a special event hosted to honour farmers and exporters after the rice won the award for the second time, reported state media The Global New Light of Myanmar on Oct 23.
Nicknamed "Pearl Rice”, Pawsan was developed in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta in 1944 and is expected to compete on quality with India's Basmati, Thailand's Jasmine rice and Cambodia's Phka Romdoul, also known as Malys Angkor. - Bernama
