Trade volume at Maungtaw Trade Zone exceeds target

January 16, 2018

Border trade in Maungtaw, Rakhine State, exceeded the target of the 2017-2018 FY, reaching more than US$9 million up to 14 January, according to an official of the trade zone.

The trade zone set the target of US$6 million, with US$5 million from exports and US$1 million from imports in this current fiscal year, which started on 1 April and ended on 31 March.

“We did not have high expectations for the trade volume due to the situation here,” said U Cho Htwe, In-charge of Maungtaw Trade Zone.

So far, the trade zone has seen more than US$5 million from exports of agricultural products, more than US$3 million from fishery products, more than US$500,000 from forest products and more than US$400,000 from industrial products, according to trade zone statistics.

Myanmar’s main exports to Bangladesh are rice, ginger, silk, cotton, onions, fish, prawns, dried fish, bamboo, sugar cane and industrial goods.

Imports arriving through the Maungtaw Border Trade Zone from Bangladesh have ceased since the terrorist attacks of October 2016.

The trade zones between Myanmar and Bangladesh mostly rely on the swell and ebb of the river, and the Kanyin Chaung trade zone is being developed to pave the way for larger cargo vessels, according to officials.

Aung Ye Thwin, Ko Min

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar