Myanmar will begin exporting watermelons to the Middle East this month, adding another region to the list of Chinese-dominated export destinations.

U Naing Win, chair of the Myanmar Watermelon and Muskmelon Producers and Exporters Association, told the Myanmar Times that Qatar and Dubai would receive the first 25-ton shipment of watermelons by December 6. The watermelons may be joined by muskmelons if sales are high. China buys the majority of Myanmar’s watermelons, but COVID-19 restrictions have rattled supply chains and sent prices soaring. Now, not only are Myanmar traders expanding their clientele, but they will offer their melons at similar prices as to Chinese buyers, U Naing Win told the Times.

Watermelons have not been the only crop affected by the pandemic. Demand for coffee, sugar, beans, seafood and other staples has risen or fallen as supply lines are throttled and merchants seek new buyers. Demand for rice, Myanmar’s flagship crop, has increased within the city of Yangon, and exports to China (Myanmar’s biggest rice buyer) have fallen due to new restrictions. In August the Ministry of Commerce reported that rice exports to China had dropped more than USD 100 million compared to the same point in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Thus, Myanmar has sought new markets for its crops, especially India and ASEAN nations, which traded nearly USD 10 billion worth of goods with Myanmar.