Monthly Archives: May 2021

Border trade between Myanmar and India hit US$160 million as of 16 April in the current financial year 2020-2021 ending September, said a statistical report of the Ministry of Commerce. The figures reflected an increase of $84.62 million as against a year-ago period.

The Myanmar-India total border trade during the period was shared by Myanmar’s export of $160.086 million and its import of $0.811 million. Myanmar conducts border trade with neighbouring India through Tamu, Reed, and Thantlang border posts. Between 1 October and 16 April in the current budget year, trade values have registered at over $31.46 million at Tamu and $129.44 million at Reed.

There was no trade recorded at the Thantlang post. Myanmar exports mung beans, pigeon peas, green grams, areca nuts, ginger, saffron, turmeric, bay leaves, fishery products, fruits, and vegetables to India. At the same time, it imports pharmaceuticals, oil cakes, electronic appliances, motorbikes, steel and other construction machines and building materials from the neighbouring country.

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

The soft-shell crab cultivation business in the farms of No. 468 block in Kyaukpyu Township, Rakhine State is thriving and those crabs are started to distribute in the external market, said a breeder. They started this commercial farming in March 2019, with 250,000 crabs. They buy the young crabs from the wild, select the live crab and separate them in the crab farming boxes.

The crabs are fed fish, caught by the inshore and offshore fishing vessels, every six hours with the use of bamboo rafts. The soft-shell crabs of marketable size are sent to the cold storage for processing and they are, again, delivered to Yangon. Then, they are shipped to Asian countries with a container. The current difficulties in crab farming is a financial constraint amidst the COVID-19 impacts. Another problem is a limit in cash withdrawal at the bank and we are in debt to secure the raw material supply.

Kyaukpyu district head of the Fisheries Department U Kyaw Sint stated that the business employs about 110 local people, with a maximum monthly payment of K500,000. To maintain the soft-shell crab resources in a long term, we will direct the businesspersons to set some of the crabs free into the sea in a certain season. The soft-shell crabs from Kyaukpyu Township are being shipped to Asian countries such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, China Taipei (Taiwan) and Hong Kong SAR, Southeast Asian countries like Viet Nam and some European countries.

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

THE sesame market is sluggish, and the price remains bearish in April-end, traders from the Mandalay market said. The market of edible oil crop has been slow-moving prior to the Chinese New Year festival. The market continues facing slow-down owing to heightened border security amid the COVID-19 resurgences, a trader said. The prices of white and brown sesame varieties have remained stable on the back of domestic demand. At the same time, there is low demand by foreign market. However, the price of black sesame seeds (Samone variety), which is primarily shipped to external markets, slightly declines.

On 4 February, the FOB prices of sesame stood at US$2,000-2,100 per metric tonne of Black sesame (Samone variety), $1,250-1,300 per metric tonne of white sesame and $1,150-1,200 per metric tonne of brown sesame. On 29 April, the black sesame price dipped to $1,900-2,000 per metric tonne. The white sesame is pegged at $1,200-1,300, and brown sesame fetches $1,100-$1,200, Bayintnaung wholesale market stated. Last year, the sesame prices dropped by over 20 per cent compared with the prices in the previous years due to the COVID-19 negative impacts. Consequently, the growers do not make a significant profit this year, a trader from the Mandalay market stressed.

Typically, Myanmar exports about 80 per cent of sesame production to foreign markets. China is the primary buyer of Myanmar sesame, which is also shipped to markets in Japan, the Republic of Korea, China (Taipei), the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, and Poland among the EU countries. The EU markets prefer organic- farming sesame seeds from Myanmar, said an official from the Trade Promotion Department. Japan prefers Myanmar black sesame seeds, cultivated under good agricultural practices (GAP), and purchases them after a quality assessment. Black sesame seeds from Myanmar are also exported to South Korea and Japan. Meanwhile, China buys various coloured sesame seeds from the country.

This year, Japan has not purchased Myanmar’s sesame yet. Sesame is cultivated in the country throughout the year. Magway Region, which has gained a reputation as the oil pot of Myanmar, is the leading producer of sesame seeds. The seeds are also grown in Mandalay and Sagaing regions. Of the cooking oil crops grown in Myanmar, the acreage under sesame is the highest, accounting for 51.3 per cent of the overall oil crop plantation. The volume of sesame exports was registered at over 96,000 tonnes, worth $130 million, in the financial year 2015- 2016; 100,000 tonnes, worth $145 million, in the FY2016-2017FY; 120,000 tonnes, worth $147 million, in the FY2017-2018; 33,900 tonnes valued at $43.8 million in the 2018 mini-budget period, 125,800 tonnes, worth $212.5 million in the FY2018-2019 and over 150,000 tonnes of sesame, worth $240 million in the previous FY2019-2020, the trade data of Central Statistical Organization indicated.

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar