Myanmar's trade deficit swells to USD 4.9 billion in 2014-15 FY, up from USD 2.65 billion in 2013-14 FY

Myanmar registered a trade deficit of $4.9 billion in the fiscal year 2014-15 that ended on March 31, figures from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

With total foreign trade amounting to $27.79 billion during the period, exports racked up $11.45 billion while imports cost $16.34 billion.

Myanmar’s trade has seen unprecedented growth recently, following the end of dictatorship in 2011. The semi-civilian government’s reform efforts encouraged major world powers to drop sanctions and engage deeper with the former pariah state, fuelling growth in trade and investments.

According to the Central Statistical Organization, Myanmar suffered a trade deficit of $2.65 billion in the fiscal year 2013-14, when it registered a total trade volume of $24.86 billion - meaning deficit has ballooned more than 87 percent in the recently-ended fiscal year.

In 2013-14 exports stood at $11.1 billion and imports were worth $13.76 billion,

In 2014-15, Border trade accounted for $4.22 billion of the total export and $2.35 billion of the total import, the ministry data showed.

Myanmar mostly exports agricultural produce, animal by-products, fishery products, mine and forest products while imports consumer products, raw materials and investment goods.

To tackle the trade deficit, the government is planning to implement the National Export Strategy, which focuses on seven sectors – rice, beans and pulses, fisheries, textiles, timber and forestry products, rubber and tourism.

Credit: Kyaw Min

Source: http://mmbiztoday.com/articles/trade-deficit-swells-49b-fy2014-15

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