Myanmar-Bangladesh border trade values cross US$7 mln over past five months

Myanmar conducted cross-border trade worth US$7.865 million with neighbouring Bangladesh via Sittway and Maungtaw posts over the past five months of the current financial year 2023-2024 beginning 1 April, the Ministry of Commerce’s statistics showed.
Export ($6.89 million) outperformed imports ($0.966 million) in Myanmar-Bangladesh border trade as of 8 September.
Trade via Maungtaw is valued at $5.287 million, while the value of trade via Sittway was estimated at $1.61 million over the past five months.
Myanmar carried out border trade worth $0.58 million with Bangladesh via Maungtaw between 1 and 10 September. The Maungtaw border is aimed to reach a trade target of $1.54 million for September. It achieved 37.73 per cent of the trade target in the first 10 days. Agricultural produce, fisheries and manufacturing goods are the main export items and no import is recorded.
The goods are supplied to the Maungtaw border through the Sittway-Buthidaung-Maungtaw and Sittway-Angumaw-Maungtaw routes. Mostly, goods flowed into the border via the Sittway-Angumaw-Maungtaw route. They are shipped to Bangladesh via the Kanyinchaung Economic Zone.
The Customs Department’s statistics indicated that Myanmar’s export to Bangladesh via the Sittway border was valued at $0.034 million between 2 and 8 September. Tamarind, jujube, fresh ginger and plum jam were sent to Bangladesh.
Although there is only 70 nautical miles distance between the two countries, the cargo vessels are operated depending on the weather conditions in monsoon season. — TWA/KK