Mandalay Coffee Group (MCG) has signed a funding agreement with Yoma Bank last week to provide K800 million (US$596,000) financial support to coffee farmers to improve their output.
MCG is a coffee processor and exporter based in Mandalay, comprising 42 individual shareholders who are involved in different parts of the coffee business supply chain, such as processing, exporting and retail.
“This partnership with MCG means that Yoma Bank will be able to help coffee planters to utilise a regular finance system more effectively,” said Hal Bosher, Yoma Bank CEO. The project will start this year and the aim is to have export quantity double.
“Mandalay Coffee Group expects to increase its export volume more than 200 percent in 2018,” Yoma Bank announced yesterday.
“For us, the coffee plantation and production sector, we think that the signing of the agreement is a step forward for the country,” MCG’s executive director U Kyaw Hlaing commented.
In 2014, MCG worked with Winrock International on their USAID project for agricultural development in Ywarngan township in Shan State to develop higher quality coffee plantation and production.
“One of the biggest obstacles for Myanmar’s high-quality coffee production sector is the access to capital necessary for coffee farmers and exporters,” Teresa McGhie from USAID explained.
Rabobank Foundation gave out a loan of K160 million for the first time in 2017 to more than 2,500 family coffee businesses, according to MCG. The objectives of the foundation were to improve the standards of living of smallholder farmers and agriculture services.
The foundation issued standby letter of credit for Yoma’s loan financing.
The contributions by Yoma Bank, MCG, and Rabobank Foundation will offer access to finance to competitive businesses and support Myanmar to penetrate the international coffee market, Ms McGhie added.
Source: Myanmar Times
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