Bold export strategy targets key products

 

 

Rice, beans, peas and oil crops, fishery products, textiles and garments, wood and wood products, and rubber are the target export items, as the country is to drive the economy with foreign exchange income. 

“The priority export items have been chosen based on two criteria. One is its potential given the current trading situation, and the other is how much it could bring socioeconomic benefits for the country,” said Maung Aung.

These were chosen after discussions among government, private and civil society organisations and experts from international trade circles.

“Reviewing these chosen items, they are products from the agricultural sector. For instance, if rice exports go up, it will benefit both farmers and consumers,” said Maung Aung.

He added that the strategy will be rolled out over five years, and that the vice president will form a trade central committee to speed up the plan.

Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore have all developed by using this method, he said.

According to Jetro’s Institute of Developing Economies, Myanmar per capita exports have remained the lowest among Asean members in the past two decades. Per capital exports of goods and services in 2010 were US$159, less than half of $359 reported for Laos. 

Myanmar’s eports have been concentrated in natural resources such as natural gas. Moreover, its exports are concentrated in Thailand, China and India, which together accounted for 75.1 per cent of its total exports in 2011.

“The empirical results of research indicates that actual exports of non-resource goods in 2005-2010 were one fifth of potential exports … The lifting of sanctions, restored access to US markets and reinstatement of GSP preferences by the EU (European Union) are expected to enhance Myanmar’s exports,” said Koji Kubo of the institute.

Before the isolation, Myanmar was the world’s biggest rice exporter. 

Myanmar plans to more than double rice shipments as the country embraces trade and opens its economy, challenging Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia for sales amid a global glut.

Shipments may increase to 2.5 million metric tonnes in 2014 and 2015 from an estimated 1.8 million tonnes in the year that started April 1, according to Bloomberg, quoting Toe Aung Myint, director-general of the Department of Trade Promotion at the Ministry of Commerce. In Hong Kong late last year, the official also said that exports are targeted to increase to 4.8 million tonnes in 2019 and 2020. 

Local and foreign businessmen see the potential of the country’s agricultural sector, given the huge labour force and the vast undeveloped land. Myanmar’s territory covers. 

According to Central Statistics Organisation, Myanmar’s export value hit US$1.76 billion in December 2013. For years, oil and natural gas dominate Myanmar’s exports. Other exports include vegetables, wood, fish, clothing, rubber and fruit. Myanmar’s main exports partners are China, India, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Indonesia and Hong Kong. 

Meanwhile, the tourism sector is thriving with raw nature and culture, which drew 2.06 million visitors to the country last year – a near 100 per cent increase from the previous year.