The government will soon offer new soft loans for businesses in livestock and agriculture affected by COVID-19. The fund of MMK 100 billion will go towards assisting farms, import and exporters, manufacturing and other businesses related to the production, processing and selling of agriculture products and livestock.

This financing may only be used for wages and existing operations and not business expansion. Speaking to The Myanmar Times, U Kyaw Htin, vice chair of the Myanmar Livestock Federation, questioned this limitation. “On top of giving out loans to businesses affected by COVID-19, business expansion loans should be given out as well,” he told the Myanmar Times.

Agriculture began to suffer in the earliest days of the pandemic, first as China began to throttle trade routes and impose restrictions on Myanmar exporters, and the situation grew worse as other border neighbors, especially Thailand, followed suit. In March, the government already established a MMK 100 billion COVID-19 fund for soft loans. However, agribusiness as such was not identified in the list of eligible industries, which included exports, manufacturing, logistics, and tourism, among others. Although exports of rice and other crops have recovered somewhat on the Chinese border, trade in general remains low.