Daily Archives: November 5, 2022

Starting from 1 November, imports are to be allowed based on the export earnings or flows of funds and the initial stage of this move will commence in Myanmar-Thailand border areas, according to 31 October 2022 of the Trade Department under the Ministry of Commerce. To improve Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) measures and follow the Action Plan of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), banking will be utilized in settling border transactions.

Imports will be allowed only with the banking system. The importers are permitted to use export earnings and foreign salary remittances of Myanmar citizens and can make transactions at the relevant banks with those earnings and flows of funds. The initial stage of this move will commence in the Myanmar-Thailand border areas, as per the statement. The Trade Department will grant an import licence after screening export earnings and flows of funds and making sure the import value does not exceed the bank account balance.

The export earnings and the flows of funds deposited after 1 April 2022 will be accepted. Those importers who seek the permit as of 31 October 2022 are not entitled to this. Those importers who were granted import licences before 31 October 2022 must bring in the goods by 30 November 2022. If they fail to do so, they will get their licences revoked. In the cross-border trade between Myanmar and Thailand, the exporting companies can import with their export earnings or transfer the earnings to other companies for imports. Moreover, they can import with their export earnings at the other border posts as well. 

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

More than 20,000 tonnes of rice have been sent to Bangladesh by up to October 2022, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Myanmar and Bangladesh inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on rice trade in September this year. According to this MoU, Bangladesh has agreed to buy 250,000 tonnes of rice and 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice from Myanmar between 2022 and 2027.

Following the MoU, Bangladesh’s Directorate-General of Food and MRF signed a sales contract for 200,000 tonnes of Myanmar’s rice to be exported to Bangladesh. As per the sales contract, Myanmar has shipped over 20,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh up to 31 October 2022. Furthermore, over 15,000 tonnes of rice are being loaded onto the vessel for now. The remaining over 150,000 tonnes of rice will be exported during the set period.

Since 7 September 2017, Myanmar and Bangladesh have engaged in rice trade under the government-to-government pact. That MoU stated that Bangladesh has agreed to buy Myanmar’s white rice (250,000 tonnes) and parboiled rice (50,000) tonnes between 2017 and September 2022. Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Food and MRF signed the sales contracts as per the MoU and Myanmar sent 100,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh each in 2017 for the first time and 2021 for the second time, as per the sales contract. 

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar