YANGON, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is set to increase coffee acreage across various regions and states in the upcoming year, the country's Myawady Daily reported on Thursday.
The military-owned newspaper cited State Administration Council Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as saying that measures were underway to expand coffee plantations by an additional 27,900 acres in 2024.
According to the report, this expansion would bring the total coffee cultivation area in the country to 300,000 acres next year, with anticipated benefits over the next five to seven years.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing also encourages capital investment in the country's coffee production, noting that allocated plots of land are available for cultivation, the report said.
In Myanmar, coffee is cultivated in various regions, including Nawnghkio, Ywangan and Pyin Oo Lwin as well as in Chin State and Bago Region. Eighty percent of the coffee plantations in the country are Arabica coffee. Most of the country's coffee plantations are in Shan State.
As of now, Myanmar's annual coffee production exceeds 9,000 tons, including over 7,000 tons of Arabica coffee and over 2,000 tons of Robusta coffee.
The Southeast Asian country exported coffee beans to over 10 foreign countries, including Britain, the United States, Japan, China, Thailand, and Australia, the Myanmar Coffee Association said. ■
