Min Aung Hlaing’s rosy economic assessment raises eyebrows among business community

By Admin 05 Jul 2023

DMG Newsroom
5 July 2023, Sittwe

Myanmar’s gross domestic production (GDP) grew 3.2 percent in the 2022-23 fiscal year, following a contraction of 17.9 percent in 2021 following the coup, according to junta boss Min Aung Hlaing.

As a developing country, Myanmar has good prospects for economic growth, but tough challenges exist at the same time, said Min Aung Hlaing.

“Global food and fuel price hikes are also impacting our country, which is lagging behind in every aspect,” Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying in the July 3 issues of the junta’s propaganda newspapers, speaking at a meeting of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).

Myanmar’s economic growth remains “severely diminished” and GDP is expected to increase just 3 percent in the fiscal year to September, the World Bank said in a recent report.

Myanmar’s economic output will remain well below levels seen in 2019, even as the rest of the East Asian region rebounds from pandemic-era lows, said the March report.

Worsening power shortages and restrictions on businesses and foreign currency exchange will continue to disrupt the economy, the report added.

“Taking a look at the ground, the business has been slow everywhere. And unemployment continues to soar. I don’t know which statistics the regime has looked at to say the economy has grown,” said a local businessman from Arakan State.

The prices of basic foodstuffs have skyrocketed since the coup, and will continue to rise, business owners say. The prices of basic foods have almost tripled since the coup.

“Food prices are up every day. I dare not dream that the prices will drop again. We are getting poorer and poorer as the money has lost its value,” said housewife Daw Thida from Sittwe.

Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing told the UMFCCI meeting on Sunday that price hikes are due to demand and supply factors, adding that Myanmar has fertile soil and human resources to ensure food security.

The Myanmar military ousted an elected government in 2021, unleashing chaos as it sought to crush its opponents. Fighting between the military and resistance forces is escalating across the country, displacing more than 1 million people, according to the United Nations.