Having already exceeded original projections, rice exports are expected to reach beyond three million tonnes in 2017-2018 fiscal year, according to Nay Lin Zin, joint-secretary of Myanmar Rice Federation. As of January 5, the country had shipped over 2.6 million tonnes of rice this fiscal year, said Khin Maung Lwin, assistant permanent secretary of the Commerce Ministry, with export earnings increasing by more than US$480 million over last year. Original expectations were for 2 million tonnes of rice exports.