Report finds Myanmar’s illegal trade with China has surged since coup

By Admin 05 Aug 2023

DMG Newsroom
5 August 2023, Sittwe
 
The illegal trade between Myanmar and China has surged since the February 2021 coup, reaching US$17 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year, according to Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar).
 
According to the junta’s Commerce Ministry, trade value between the two countries in the 2022-23 fiscal year was just over US$9 billion, whereas the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) gave a different figure, at over US$26 billion, suggesting a difference of US$17 billion, said the August 3 report from ISP-Myanmar.
 
The difference indicates a surge in illegal trade between the two neighbours, said ISP-Myanmar.
 
The report noted that according to the monthly figures released by authorities of the two countries, the difference ranges from US$1 billion to US$2 billion per month.
 
Myanmar engages in border trade with four of its neighbours, and with the exception of Thailand, its official border trade with three of the countries is declining. China, however, remains Myanmar’s largest trading partner, according to the report.
 
Faced with post-coup international sanctions, the regime has been forced to increasingly rely on China, said political analyst U Than Soe Naing.
 
“Myanmar has been hit really hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and political turmoil. And it can’t do business with other [Western] countries [due to sanctions]. Myanmar has no other country to rely on, and can only turn to China, and accept all the consequences,” said U Than Soe Naing.
 
Myanmar’s total foreign trade value in the 2022-23 fiscal year stood at nearly US$34 billion, and China as Myanmar’s biggest trading partner accounted for more than US$9.2 billion.
 
Illegal trade in Myanmar has persisted since the time of previous military regimes, say observers.
 
Local businesses may suffer from illegal trade with China, according to a watchdog monitoring Chinese projects.
 
“Only a handful of people will enjoy the benefits of illegal trade, and other businesses will suffer. The poverty levels will worsen if the illegal trade continues to thrive,” they said.
 
Oil and gas provides the regime with its biggest single source of official revenue. Myanmar exported over US$16.6 billion worth of goods in the 2022-23 fiscal year. The export of gas, gold and jewellery items, as well as clothing and sugar, accounted for nearly US$11 billion of the total export revenues. The amount was an increase of US$2.7 billion compared to the 2020-21 fiscal year, whereas agricultural exports declined by over US$620 million, according to the ISP-Myanmar report.