31/12/05 (Kyodo)  -  Myanmar is aiming to produce about 500,000 tons of palm oil annually by 2010 to meet domestic demand for edible oil, a local newspaper reported Saturday.

"Our goal is to cultivate up to (283,500 hectares) of oil palm and produce at least 500,000 tons of edible oil annually in the next five years," the Myanmar Times reported, quoting Soe Htin, director of the Perennial Crops Department.

Myanmar consumes around 500,000 tons of cooking oil annually, about half of it imported, mainly from Malaysia.

More than 64,800 hectares of oil palm have been planted in the southern Myanmar division of Tanintharyi, mainly by private firms.

The government has planned to add 103,680 hectares more in the next three years, Soe Htin told the newspaper.