Welfare Effects Of Export Tax Implications On Sesame In Myanmar

Export tax as a price control has been imposed on agricultural products of Myanmar. Sesame, one of the high potential export commodities from Myanmar, was also distorted by government export tax policy to shrink the volume of trade. The study investigated the impacts of imposing export tax on sesame seed trade with the assumption of dominant exporting country. To understand the closely related market nature, sesame market structure was estimated in the multi-market frameworks using simultaneous equations. Partial equilibrium view of policy simulation was further examined for clarification of alternative policy impacts (10%, 8%, and 5% export tax) on market participants. Simulation results reported that current export tax caused the consumers surplus in both direct consumption and crushing sectors. A part from this it showed the best results not only in government revenue but also in society surplus. The recommendation can therefore be drawn out from this study that the export volume should not totally be banned and the export tax should not be totally eliminated for this commodity. Thereafter, the tax revenue should be used in sesame industry improvement