Myanmar junta cracks down on ‘illegal’ imports in Mandalay markets

Myanmar’s military regime has begun carrying out inspections of markets in Mandalay as it continues to lose revenue from cross-border trade through areas controlled by anti-junta forces. According to traders in the city, which is the main distribution hub for Upper Myanmar, inspectors have targeted the Zay Cho Market and other commercial areas to ensure that taxes have been paid on imported goods. Earlier this month, deputy junta chief Vice Senior General Soe Win ordered a crackdown on unlicensed imports, saying illegal trade must be brought under control amid a foreign currency crisis and trade disruptions caused by conflict in border areas. Following this directive, inspections and seizures of Thai and Chinese goods have expanded since the third week of October, according to traders. On Wednesday, around 15 police officers and municipal authorities inspected shops and warehouses at the Zay Cho Market, a shop owner from the market told Myanmar Now. “They inspected the cosmetics section, but I haven’t heard about any seizures yet. I heard they negotiated with the shops,” she said. A day earlier, an even larger team inspected the well-known general goods store Kissana, also located at the market, according to a local resident. “They sent municipal officials, police, customs officers, even military guards. They inspected Thai and Chinese goods,” said the resident, adding that business owners who fail to show proper documentation face fines or arrest. On Saturday, a number of arrests were made at a warehouse in Mandalay’s Pyigyitagon Township, according to the MDY-Revolution Facebook page, which reports on news in the city. Prior to that search, authorities also inspected an electrical goods warehouse on 56th Street in Chanmyathazi Township. According to MDY-Revolution, several people were arrested because they could not produce import permits or prove that they had paid taxes on their goods. They were also threatened with hundreds of millions of kyat in fines and the seizure of 40 percent of the merchandise. The junta’s efforts to rein in unlicensed imports has resulted in reduced sales of foreign goods, with shopping malls and stores now primarily selling domestic products, according to Mandalay residents. Myanmar relies heavily on imports due to insufficient domestic production of food, consumer goods, and industrial raw materials. Some imported products, including medicines, cooking oil, and fuel, can only be sold under a quota system. Since late last year, many border gates trading with Thailand, China, India, and Bangladesh have come under the control of ethnic armed groups, preventing the junta’s border trade operations from functioning fully. The regime’s crackdown on imports only adds to the problems of ordinary people, according to an economic analyst who did not want to be identified by name. “They’re basically saying, ‘If we can’t make money from it, nobody can have it.’ People inside the country will face more shortages of consumer goods. It will be like the socialist era of the 1960s, when people had to use low-quality soap,” he said. Speaking at a meeting on October 9, Soe Win stated that illegal trade had to be stopped not just because of the loss of revenue, but also because it supports anti-junta armed groups. He added that from early 2022 to the end of August this year, the regime had seized 14,659 cases of smuggled goods worth over 300 billion kyat.

Myanmar junta cracks down on ‘illegal’ imports in Mandalay markets

The regime is stepping up its efforts to stem the sale of imported goods coming through areas controlled by its opponents

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