Myanmar’s border exports plummet amid conflict

Myanmar’s earnings from border trade fell by hundreds of millions of dollars this year, according to data collected by the junta-controlled ministry of commerce. After the capture of border crossing gates by anti-junta armed groups, border traders’ revenue dropped by around US $400 million or nearly nine percent from to the previous year, the ministry’s figures show. From April to December 2023, according to the commerce ministry’s latest report, the total value of revenue from exports reached US $4.1 billion as compared to $4.5 billion for the same nine-month period in 2022. The value of exports to Thailand decreased by US $178 million, and fell by US $157 million, $9 million, and $6 million to China, Bangladesh, and India, respectively. Traders export goods overland to China, India, Thailand, and Bangladesh via 17 checkpoints—or gates—located along Myanmar’s international borders. Agricultural and aquacultural products, livestock, and extracted natural resources comprise the bulk of the country’s exports. While exports fell precipitously between 2022 and 2023, imports rose by more than US $430 million. Last month, Naw Mutakapaw—the director general of the Myanmar Trade Promotion Organisation and a spokesperson for the junta’s commerce ministry—told Myanmar Now that fighting on overland trade routes was the main hindrance to boosting commerce at the border. “In order to promote trade, transit routes need to be fast, safe, and convenient. That's a little bit difficult. We are doing what we can,” she said. She did not give details on the methods being implemented. The Brotherhood Alliance—which launched the sweeping Operation 1027 offensive against military targets in northern Shan State in late October of 2023—has seized effective control of most trade routes with China, usually Myanmar's largest trading partner. With fighting spreading to and intensifying in other states and regions, trade routes with India and Thailand have also been cut off. Within weeks after initiating Operation 1027, the Brotherhood Alliance—which consists of the Kokang armed group, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Arakan Army (AA)—had succeeded in occupying the 105-Mile Trade Zone near Muse, northern Shan State, and capturing a crossing checkpoint in the town of Chin Shwe Haw on the Myanmar-China border. The alliance has continued capturing towns and bases on the China-Myanmar border since then. Similarly, clashes near the Tamu crossing on the border between Myanmar’s Sagaing Region and the Indian state of Manipur have brought virtually all border trade to a halt, as has the occupation of the border town of Rikhawdar in Falam Township, Chin State, since November by an alliance of Chin anti-junta forces. Aside from a few functioning hubs on the Thailand-Myanmar border, there have been significant disruptions to trade at nearly every border crossing in the country, putting the military junta at risk of severe losses in foreign and customs revenue, according to one Mandalay-based businessman. He pointed out that Myanmar, which relies heavily on imported goods and raw materials, is already coping with high commodity prices and rising transportation costs because of the disruptions to trade. "We want the border trade routes reopened as soon as possible. The trade routes can be managed by ethnic armed organisations. Because if border trade stops, it will be more and more difficult for the people," said the businessman, who asked to remain anonymous out of concern for his security. Myanmar also needs robust foreign currency reserves to maintain its capacity to import fuel and cooking oil. Junta chief Sen.-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing acknowledged Myanmar’s economic woes when he assembled the leaders of the country’s registered political parties on Sunday. He emphasised that, because of international sanctions increasingly blocking access to foreign funds and loans, the country’s economy would have to continue relying on export earnings for the foreseeable future.

Myanmar’s border exports plummet amid conflict

Revenue from commerce on the border in 2023 is on track to decrease by US $400 million from the previous year, adding to the woes of an economy already hobbled by international sanctions

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