Merchants, cargo workers face hardships as Myanmar’s border trade with Bangladesh halts

By Admin 07 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
7 December 2023, Maungdaw

Local merchants and cargo workers are reportedly facing difficulties as the border trade zones in Arakan State have been closed for nearly a month.

The regime has blocked land and water routes to Arakan State since renewed fighting on November 13, forcing the suspension of all maritime and border trade activities.

“The fighting made cargo workers, who rely on the border trade for their livelihoods, jobless. They [cargo workers] are now struggling to make ends meet,” said U Aung Myint Thein, chairman of the Maungdaw border trade association.

Myanmar conducts its border trade with Bangladesh through Sittwe’s Shwe Min Gan border trade camp and Maungdaw’s Kanyinchaung border trade zone.

Myanmar primarily exports marine products, ginger, onion, coconuts and betel nuts to Bangladesh, and imports consumer goods and construction materials from the South Asian country.

Goods produced in Arakan State account for 30 percent of Myanmar’s exports to Bangladesh, which shares a border with Arakan State.

“We sell commodities bought from mainland Myanmar in Arakan State due to the border trade halt. The goods ordered from mainland Myanmar are still on the trucks stuck along the road. All people will face hardships in the long run,” said Ko Khaing Myo Oo, a border trade merchant in Buthidaung.

Economic analysts said that if cargo transportation activities are stopped for a long time, the people of Arakan State will experience many challenges such as shortages of goods and extremely high prices.

“The consequence of this situation will be high prices and scarcity of goods, affecting people’s incomes. That’s why people will be comfortable when there is stability in terms of the military and politics,” said an economic analyst in Arakan State.

Previously, cargo workers earned about K20,000 per day, but currently they have no regular income.