Myanmar maritime trade tops $19.5 bln as of 24 Sept

The value of Myanmar’s maritime trade over the eleven months (1 October-24 September) of the financial year 2020-2021 sank to US$19.54 billion, which is a 24 per cent drop compared with the same corresponding period of FY2019-2020.
The figures plunged from $25.8 billion during the year-ago period, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
While maritime exports were valued at $8 billion, imports were registered at $11 billion. Compared to the same period in the 2019-2020 financial year, imports fell by $4 billion, while exports registered a decrease of $2 billion. The maritime trade fell by $6.27 billion as of 24 September as against last year.
Meanwhile, the value of trade through the border this FY was estimated at $9.69 billion, a decrease of $832.7 million as against a year-ago period.
Myanmar witnessed a slump in exports and imports triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Both sea trade and border trade dropped amid the coronavirus impacts and the political changes. For maritime trade, disruption in the logistic sector and the impact of COVID-19 on global shipping scaled-down Myanmar’s maritime trade somehow.
The country’s total external trade over the past ten months touched a low of $26.1 billion, which plunged from $33 billion recorded in a year-ago period.
Myanmar’s sea trade generated $29.24 billion out of an overall trade value of $36.3 billion in the last FY2019-2020, the Ministry of Commerce’s statistics indicated.
Myanmar exports agricultural products, fishery products, minerals, livestock, forest products, finished industrial goods, and other products, while it imports capital goods, consumer goods, and raw industrial materials.
The country currently has nine ports involved in sea trade. Yangon Port is the main gateway for Myanmar’s maritime trade and includes the Yangon inner terminals and the outer Thilawa Port.
Yangon inner terminal and the outer Thilawa Port received over 152 larger ships of above 30,000 DWT (Deadweight tonnage) in the past five months (Feb-June) this year after the draft limit is extended up to 10 meters with the new navigation channel accessing to inner Yangon River.— KK/GNLM