13 March
The value of border trade between India and Myanmar declined by US$11.37 million in the October-February period of the current fiscal year owing to the closure of border crossing by India in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
India has closed the border crossing in Mizoram and Manipur on account of COVID-19, and traders are reeling under the negative impact of the outbreak.
The cross-border trade between Myanmar and India has stopped, and the reopening of the checkpoints would depend on the spread of the virus.
Myanmar conducts border trade with neighboring India through Tamu, Reed, and Htantalan crossing.
Between 1 October and 28 February in the current fiscal year, trade values were registered at $33 million at Tamu and $32.36 million at Reed. There was no trade recorded at the Htantalan crossing.
In the five months since October, the India-Myanmar trade plunged to $65 million from $76.8 million recorded in the year-ago period, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce.
Myanmar exports mung beans, pigeon peas, green grams, areca nuts, ginger, saffron, turmeric, bay leaves, fishery products, fruits, and vegetables to India, while it imports pharmaceuticals, oil cakes, electronic appliances, motorbikes, steel and other construction materials from the neighboring country. —Ko Khant (Translated by Ei Myat Mon)
