Fishery exports likely to fetch $1 billion

March 11, 2018

The Myanmar Fishery Products Processors and Exporters Association (MFPPEA) has demanded tax relief for the fishery export industry to increase the sector’s income to US$1 billion.

The association members made the demand during the 15th regular meeting of vice president 1 and the entrepreneurs held at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry on 7 March 2018.

Myanmar exported fishery products worth some $650 million, as of the end of February in the current fiscal year (FY). The figure is some 50 per cent more than that achieved in the same period last FY. The fishery export sector intends to earn up to $700 million this year, said U Myo Nyunt, secretary of MFPPEA.

Fishery products processing enterprises need tax relief to meet the food safety criteria of international markets and compete against international countries. To ensure the food safety of seafood, industrial materials and other necessary ingredients used for value-addition have to be imported from abroad, and businessmen are burdened with custom duties. To save overhead costs, fishery products processors and exporters have demanded a tax exemption, he maintained.

In a bid to penetrate more international markets, MFPPEA will exhibit Myanmar’s fishery products at the Brussels Seafood Show, the Boston Seafood Show and the China Seafood Show.

The Unites States has banned Myanmar’s sea food imports, as the fishing nets used in Myanmar’s fishing boats have not installed a turtle excluder device. So, U Myo Nyunt has requested the Fishery Department and the Myanmar Marine Fisheries Association to tackle this export challenge.

Htet Myat

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar