Maungdaw-Bangladesh border trade reduced to a trickle due to junta transport restrictions

By DMG 14 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
14 October 2022, Maungdaw

Travel restrictions in Arakan State put in place by Myanmar’s military regime amid renewed fighting with the Arakan Army (AA) have nearly brought border trade with Bangladesh via Maungdaw to a complete halt, according to border traders.

The junta’s travel restrictions mean goods from Sittwe barely arrive in Maungdaw for export to Bangladesh, said businesspeople.

Though the Maungdaw border trade camp is open now, it is only exporting existing stocks, and exports will halt once those stocks run out, said a merchant from Maungdaw.

“We are only exporting remaining stocks in the town. But only one to two vessels of goods are exported a month now,” said the trader.

The regime has closed the Angumaw-Maungdaw road — the key route for border trade between Maungdaw and Bangladesh — since August 13. It has also imposed tight restrictions on waterways in the region.

“There is no restriction on border trade, but traders can’t make exports because no goods arrive in Maungdaw,” said the chairman of the Maungdaw Border Traders Association, U Aung Myint Thein. “Previously, three to five vessels left monthly for Bangladesh. Since August 13, the trade volume has declined to barely one vessel per week.”

Since transportation routes were blocked two months ago, Maungdaw’s border trade with Bangladesh has declined by more than 80 percent, according to border traders.

Traders and cargo workers who are dependent on the border trade are suffering as a result. Some workers have quit, said U Aung Myint Thein.

“Some have quit because they think it will take months until border trade can resume as normal. Employers are just as happy as they also want to reduce their workforces, because there is no business,” he said.

A merchant from Maungdaw called on the regime to lift its travel restrictions. “The restrictions have affected the entire chain, from business owners to company employees, vessel crews and labourers. They have serious problems with their livelihoods now. So, I urge authorities to reopen the routes,” he said.

Myanmar engages in border trade with Bangladesh via trade camps in Sittwe and Maungdaw, which link up with Teknaf Port in Bangladesh.

Myanmar primarily exports ginger, onion, pepper, plum jam, and fisheries products to Bangladesh.