Citing environmental concerns, plan to export dried tamarind leaves halted

By Admin 21 Sep 2023

DMG Newsroom
21 September 2023, Sittwe
 
A plan to buy tonnes of dry tamarind leaves produced in Myanmar and export them to Thailand has been shelved due to protests from environmental conservation groups.
 
Ko Sai Naw Hsai, a merchant, planned to export and sell dried tamarind leaves, which are used in the production of traditional medicine and soap, to Thailand as the sole representative of Myanmar.
 
“I plan to sell dried tamarind leaves to factories in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The factories in Thailand are going to buy a lot of tonnes of dried tamarind leaves, but I have to stop the plan to export dried tamarind leaves to Thailand due to protests by environmental protection groups. I am exporting about 300 packages of 100 gram tamarind leaves to America and Europe,” he explained.
 
The dried tamarind leaves were planned to be purchased at K3,200 per viss and K1.9 million per tonne.
 
“The buyer asked the seller to cut the branches of the tamarind tree while it was spreading its leaves. If you trim a tamarind tree during the rainy season, the water will get in and damage the branches even more,” said Ko Aye Myo Min Thit, an environmentalist in Natmauk Township.
 
Environmentalists say that it takes three to six years for a tamarind tree to reach maturity, a process that can be disrupted by wanton trimming.
 
Tamarind trees are grown both for the fruit they produce and their medicinal properties.