The value of trade through the Myawady border with neighbouring Thailand amounted to US$35.404 million in the past three weeks of August, the Ministry of Commerce’s statistics indicated.
Export via Myawady was worth $9.832 million and imports were valued at $25.572 million between 1 and 21 August 2023.
On 7 August, torrential rain destroyed some road sections on Myawady-Kawkareik road, which is a major trade channel between Myanmar and Thailand and repair works are underway. Myawady-Kawkareik Asian Highway reopened to a single lane on 15 August, allowing the six-wheel trucks to drive in the lane so far, according to the Construction Ministry.
Export and import licence fees and related service fees are waived while road repair on the Myawady-Kawkareik road section is being undertaken, according to the export/import news bulletin (14/2023) released by the Trade Department on 18 August.
Additionally, in order to ensure smooth trade, the exporters are entitled to move to some Myanmar-Thailand border posts after receiving the export licence for the goods. If they want to change the mode of transportation to maritime transport, the authority will give the green light to it as well, as per the Trade Department’s notification released on 9 August.
Myanmar exported broken rice, black gram, green gram, peanut, white sesame, turmeric, dried and fresh konjac, onion, rubber, chilli pepper, fish, shrimp, crab, squid, eel and other fishery products, minerals and finished textile clothes to Thailand via Myawady border post, whereas capital goods, intermediate goods and consumer goods were imported.
Myanmar’s border trade with the neighbouring country Thailand amounted to $2.29 billion as of 18 August in the current financial year 2023- 2024 beginning 1 April.
Myanmar conducts cross-border trade with Thailand via the Tachilek, Myawady, Kawthoung, Myeik, Htikhee and Mawtaung border. Of them, the Htikhee border performed the largest trade worth $1.487 billion over the past four and half months. Exports outperformed imports at Kawthoung, Htikhee and Mawtaung border points.
The trade values stood at $649 million at Myawady border post, $68.5 million at Tachhilek, $43.39 million at Myeik, $42.36 million at Kawthoung and $4.822 million at Mawtaung.
Myanmar also delivered fish powder and minced fish worth $0.232 million by seeking a Certificate of Origin (Form D) benefit to Thailand through Mawtaung with road transport on 21 and 22 August. — TWA/KK
