Agricultural input retailers in Myanmar: Insights from the 2025 monsoon season
This Research Note presents results from an August 2025 phone survey of 227 agricultural input retailers – who provide agricultural inputs and informal credit to farmers – in Myanmar’s major agro-ecological zones. Key Findings • Input sales declined sharply in the 2025 monsoon relative to 2024. Fewe...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
International Food Policy Research Institute
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177266 |
| _version_ | 1855531697030823936 |
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| author | Goeb, Joseph Htar, May Thet Zu, A Myint |
| author_browse | Goeb, Joseph Htar, May Thet Zu, A Myint |
| author_facet | Goeb, Joseph Htar, May Thet Zu, A Myint |
| author_sort | Goeb, Joseph |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | This Research Note presents results from an August 2025 phone survey of 227 agricultural input retailers – who provide agricultural inputs and informal credit to farmers – in Myanmar’s major agro-ecological zones.
Key Findings
• Input sales declined sharply in the 2025 monsoon relative to 2024. Fewer retailers sold inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, and aggregate sales for those who did sell declined by 31 percent for inorganic fertilizer and 10 percent for pesticides.
• The decline is not solely due to supply shortages: smaller areas planted, weaker farm profits, and conflict have dampened demand, while climate change and the 2025 earthquake add to input market stress. Two-thirds of retailers cite lower input demand from climate change in the past three years, and earthquake impacts – while more localized – disrupted market access and areas planted.
• Transport remains the dominant business disruption. Even with a slight drop in overall reported disruptions compared to 2024, transport problems – higher costs, checkpoints and roadblocks – still dominate. Long input supply chains dependent on imports and flowing through Yangon mean that checkpoints and higher costs compound as inputs reach rural farmers.
• Farmer finances are stressed, especially in rice-dominant areas. Farmers are asking for and taking more credit from input retailers. This likely reflects tighter liquidity following the recent global rice price decline, which has reduced incentives and profitability for monsoon paddy.
• Credit provision is expanding but adding risk. More retailers are providing credit to farmers and sourcing their inputs on credit from suppliers. Yet, two-thirds of retailers that provided credit in 2024 still have unpaid debts from farmers, raising the risks of cascading financial stress.
• Measures to ease transport constraints, stabilize access to imported fertilizers and pesticides, and expand formal credit options for both farmers and retailers would help sustain this essential link in the agrifood system. |
| format | Brief |
| id | CGSpace177266 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1772662025-12-08T10:11:39Z Agricultural input retailers in Myanmar: Insights from the 2025 monsoon season Goeb, Joseph Htar, May Thet Zu, A Myint farm inputs markets transport supply chains prices rice This Research Note presents results from an August 2025 phone survey of 227 agricultural input retailers – who provide agricultural inputs and informal credit to farmers – in Myanmar’s major agro-ecological zones. Key Findings • Input sales declined sharply in the 2025 monsoon relative to 2024. Fewer retailers sold inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, and aggregate sales for those who did sell declined by 31 percent for inorganic fertilizer and 10 percent for pesticides. • The decline is not solely due to supply shortages: smaller areas planted, weaker farm profits, and conflict have dampened demand, while climate change and the 2025 earthquake add to input market stress. Two-thirds of retailers cite lower input demand from climate change in the past three years, and earthquake impacts – while more localized – disrupted market access and areas planted. • Transport remains the dominant business disruption. Even with a slight drop in overall reported disruptions compared to 2024, transport problems – higher costs, checkpoints and roadblocks – still dominate. Long input supply chains dependent on imports and flowing through Yangon mean that checkpoints and higher costs compound as inputs reach rural farmers. • Farmer finances are stressed, especially in rice-dominant areas. Farmers are asking for and taking more credit from input retailers. This likely reflects tighter liquidity following the recent global rice price decline, which has reduced incentives and profitability for monsoon paddy. • Credit provision is expanding but adding risk. More retailers are providing credit to farmers and sourcing their inputs on credit from suppliers. Yet, two-thirds of retailers that provided credit in 2024 still have unpaid debts from farmers, raising the risks of cascading financial stress. • Measures to ease transport constraints, stabilize access to imported fertilizers and pesticides, and expand formal credit options for both farmers and retailers would help sustain this essential link in the agrifood system. 2025-10-22 2025-10-22T14:41:46Z 2025-10-22T14:41:46Z Brief https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177266 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Goeb, Joseph; Htar, May Thet; and Zu, A Myint. 2025. Agricultural input retailers in Myanmar: Insights from the 2025 monsoon season. Myanmar SSP Research Note 125. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177266 |
| spellingShingle | farm inputs markets transport supply chains prices rice Goeb, Joseph Htar, May Thet Zu, A Myint Agricultural input retailers in Myanmar: Insights from the 2025 monsoon season |
| title | Agricultural input retailers in Myanmar: Insights from the 2025 monsoon season |
| title_full | Agricultural input retailers in Myanmar: Insights from the 2025 monsoon season |
| title_fullStr | Agricultural input retailers in Myanmar: Insights from the 2025 monsoon season |
| title_full_unstemmed | Agricultural input retailers in Myanmar: Insights from the 2025 monsoon season |
| title_short | Agricultural input retailers in Myanmar: Insights from the 2025 monsoon season |
| title_sort | agricultural input retailers in myanmar insights from the 2025 monsoon season |
| topic | farm inputs markets transport supply chains prices rice |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177266 |
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