Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Traders lodge complaint against Sein Nan Htike bean company

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Tuesday, 29 November 2011 18:46 Te Te

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The owner of the Sein Nan Htike bean trading company has failed to pay more than five billion kyat for beans, according to the Myanmar Beans, Pulses and Sesame Merchants Association (MBPSMA).

The association says the owner’s whereabouts are not known, and it is making a list of bean traders who claim they are owed money.

"When the list is completed, we may find more people were not paid. Five bean exporters were not paid. Most of the people are local bean traders. Some of them are from rural areas," Thaung Han, the joint secretary of MPBSMA, told Mizzima.


A Burmese farmer works a field near old pagodas and temples. Photo: Mizzima

According to recently compiled figures, Zaw Nge, the Sein Nan Htike Company owner, failed to pay more than three billion kyat to bean traders in Rangoon and more than two billion kyat to traders from rural areas. The company buys and sells beans, especially mung beans. It failed to pay an estimated 30 bean traders including 15 traders in Rangoon, said association officials.

The owner closed the company office and warehouses and went to Thailand on November 24, according to the MBPSMA.

Meanwhile, MBPSMA has warned wholesalers in Bayint Naung Market not to sell beans to delivery orders in the name of the company.

Some bean traders have filed lawsuits against the company. "He left nothing, so nothing is there to put up for auction," Thaung Han said.

“He took money in advance to sell the beans. But there are no beans," said a trader at the Bayintnaung wholesale market.

In the past, bean traders did many deals orally and the payment was usually made at a later date. When the price of beans goes down dramatically, the fluctuation of bean prices can range from several hundred million kyat. Three bean traders were arrested and charged for failing to pay money. The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) had to mediate between two sides in about 40 lawsuits.

In July 2010, the MPBSMA banned bean traders from buying and selling orally. The case against Sein Nan Htike does not involve buying and selling orally, but is a matter of traders believing in the company and paying money in advance.

The current price of mung beans is 450,000 kyat per ton and the export bean market is weak, said bean traders.

India is the largest buyer of Burma's mung beans, green grams and pigeon peas. There are about 300 bean-exporting companies. According to figures compiled by MPBSMA, Burma earned US $515 million from exporting mung beans, green grams and pegion peas from April 2009 until February 2010.

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