Myanmar foreign trade down by $263 mln this FY

MYANMAR’s external trade as of 22 October in the current mini-budget year 2021-2022 (Oct-March) sank to US$1.4 billion, which shows a drastic drop of $263 million as against the year-ago period, the Ministry of Commerce’s data showed.
The international trade stood at over $1.66 billion in the corresponding period of last FY 2020-2021, according to data released by the ministry.
This month, Myanmar’s export was worth over $697 million whereas, the country’s import was relatively low at $703.68 million.
The border trade dropped owing to the closure of border post by the main trade partner China amid the coronavirus impacts. However, the maritime trade was registered an increase of $115 million.
At the present time, the traders have transaction problem triggered by the restriction of the private banks.
Myanmar exports agricultural products, animal products, minerals, forest products, and finished industrial goods, while it imports capital goods, raw industrial materials, and consumer goods.  The country’s export sector relies more on the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. The Ministry of Commerce is focusing on reducing trade deficit, export promotion and market diversification.
The external trade stood at $29.58 billion in the 2020-2021 FY, as per the Commerce Ministry’s statistics.—KK/GNLM