Myanmar plans to boost the fisheries sector to accelerate GDP growth after the current monsoon period (U Phyo Min Thein, Yangon Region Chief Minister)

A plan to boost the fisheries sector will be drawn and implemented after the current monsoon period to accelerate GDP growth in Myanmar, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said.

The plan will be implemented in the Twante and Yangon areas, he said at the meeting with the vice president and businesses.

“The current government is very much interested in the fisheries sector. The sector can contribute immediate benefits for faster GDP growth. So, negotiations are underway to implement a special fisheries project in Twante and other suitable locations. It will start after this monsoon season,” he said.

According to Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM), current Myanmar GDP growth rate is 7.3 per cent. The livestock and fisheries sector is the second largest contributor to the country’s GDP, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Almost all of the production, processing and marketing of fish and fishery-related activities are carried out by the private sector. Currently, there is no state-owned institution competing with the private sector in fishery and fishery related industry.

“With the development of fishery sector, the nation’s economy will progress faster. There will be many job opportunities for the workers,” Myanmar Fishery Federation vice chair U Hnin Oo told The Myanmar Times.

If marine product breeding zones are created with the support of a systematic security system and proper laws, the nation’s economy will be significantly developed within one year, U Hnin Oo said.

U Phyo Min Thein will meet with businessmen in the sector to discuss its potential to raise GDP within three years.

The Twante marine product zone will include breeding ponds, spawning, feed factories, freezing factories and laboratories, it is learnt. It will create job opportunities at home for Myanmar migrant workers who now go to Mahachai, Thailand to work.

“It can develop the economy within a year. It will take a certain time to catch up with other countries. But if we start now, we expect to catch up with others in future. It is because we have advantages in terms of resources,” U Hnin Oo said.

Myanmar is endowed with rich and varied marine and inland fishery resources, with production potential of 1.05 million metric tons per annum from the marine source only. Inland water bodies such as natural lakes, reservoirs and river systems cover an area of about 8.2 million hectares, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Marine product exports up until mid-July of the current fiscal year amounted to US$150 million. Last year, export volumes of marine products totalled $600 million.

The sector had expected to hit a total $700 million export volume, but the target has never been reached, it is learnt.

“Marine products like prawns and shrimp already have ready markets. What we need is infrastructure like spawning and preservation technologies and facilities. Now it has begun,” U Hnin Oo said.

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