Illegal trade threatens economy, minister says

Commerce Minister Win Myint told the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry late yesterday that illegal trade depletes tax revenues and threatens efforts to protect consumers.

“Illegal trade can directly hurt the national income. It can also lead to depression of the businesses that regularly pay taxes, and it can also hurt the growth of small and medium enterprises,” he said, adding that mobile teams patrolling for illegal imports are playing a crucial role in combating illegal trade.
 

“President Thein Sein asked me to lead the mobile teams in order to combat illegal trade effectively and without any bias. As I was once a merchant, I don’t want to arrest others. But we must do it for the country,” he told a gathering of the country’s leading executives.

Win Myint said mobile teams had not achieved much success in reducing illegal trade in the past. He said that some of members of the current teams had faced threats as well as minor attacks during their work. In an effort to continue combating illegal trade, mobile teams have been extended from land routes to cover ports and airports.

He said that the country’s official trade volume will surge this fiscal year to its highest level yet if the country achieves success in combating illegal trade. Illegal trade usually proceeds in border towns near China, India and Thailand. The minister urged the public to inform relevant authorities as soon as possible about any illegal trade in their areas.

In the 2013-14 fiscal year, total trade reached to US$24.96 billion, up about $ 10 billion from fiscal 2010-11. In fiscal 2012-13 total trade amounted to $ 18.05 billion, according to government figures.

“We should not be satisfied with that. Even our neighbouring country Bangladesh is enjoying more trade volume than us. So we need to redouble our efforts to improve our trade,” said Win Myint.

“Myanmar’s trade is entering the global supply chain. With the launch of the Asean Economic Community in 2015, we need to sell our products to more than 600 million customers in the region. We all must prepare for a much bigger market,” he said.

While combating illegal trade, the Ministry of Commerce has planned to open more border trade centres nationwide, including Chin State during this fiscal year. In collaboration with various ministries, the commerce ministry also plans to solve the difficulties faced by trade departments at the regional and state level through on-ground observations.
 

In this fiscal year, which started on April 1, total trade reached $ 8.98 billion as of August 8, 2014, according to government figures. Exports totaled $3.45 billion and imports were $5.53. Border trade amounted to $1.53 billion, while trade through sea ports exceeded $7.45 billion.
 

This represents a more than 25 per cent rise over last year, according to figures from the customs department. Trade totaled $7.04 billion during the same period last year, according to the department of commerce and consumer affairs. It was up by $1.94 billion as of August 8, the department said.