Rush for rice is expected

There is widespread agreement that the country should be able to feed itself. "This is a country blessed for growing rice," said Duncan Macintosh, a spokesman for the Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute.

But production has been stifled by Myanmar's ruling generals, who have set themselves up as the only domestic rice buyer. The government's low prices mean most farmers grow only what they need for themselves, experts say, and as a result, the world's largest rice exporter before World War II now contributes just a trickle to the 30-million-ton-per-year international rice trade.

Yet that capability to grow rice with ease has many observers convinced that Myanmar, also known as Burma, will be able to feed its people again within a few months.

"The rice fields farther north are going to get plenty of water now," said Sriprasert, the Thai rice exporter, who has traveled to Myanmar. "The land and the water there are better than in Thailand; the river systems are huge.

"They'll start to plant soon," he said. "And the crop will be good."

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bruce.wallace@latimes.com