According to U San Tun Lwin, Chairman of the Myanmar Edible Oil Millers Association, guaranteed crop prices have been set in Magway Region, a major oil crop-producing area, with the aim of encouraging farmers cultivating oil crops such as groundnuts, white sesame and brown sesame to expand their cultivation further. Magway Region has more than 6.4 million acres of cultivated farmland for various crops, of which over 2.7 million acres are dedicated to oil crops, accounting for 42 per cent of the total cultivated area. “For the coming harvest season, depending on product quality, the guaranteed price for one basket of unshelled groundnuts has been set at K40,000, white sesame at between K130,000 and K150,000 per basket, and brown sesame at between K100,000 and K120,000 per basket. At present, rainfall has already begun in Magway Region, so the cultivation of groundnuts, sesame and sunflower has started. Myanmar’s edible oil sector has development opportunities, but it is also facing challenges such as energy shortages, weak value-added production, the need to modernise machinery, and market-related difficulties,” said U San Tun Lwin. Due to insufficient domestic edible oil production, Myanmar still has to import palm oil from abroad. During the 2025-2026 financial year, nearly 8.7 million acres of groundnuts, sesame, sunflower, mustard, niger and soybean were targeted for cultivation, and it is estimated that around 860,000 tonnes of edible oil could be produced if the oil crops are processed. — ASH/MKKS