Mizzima
Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing said, on 22 April, that the Myanmar economy is suffering due to blocked trade routes, economic sanctions and unscrupulous people causing a lack of stability and peace in the country,
He said that if people can overcome these difficulties trade will improve and the value of the kyat will rise. He added that the junta is striving to foster peace and stability by enforcing the rule of law, managing the price of food and essential goods and trying to increase the value of the kyat.
One of the reasons Myanmar is facing economic difficulties is because defence forces have taken over some towns where there are border trade posts and fighting near others has stopped or greatly reduced cross-border trade.
The junta has lost control of six border trade crossings since the end of 2023, due to offensives launched by ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and defence forces.
Currently, the Muse border crossing to China, in northern Shan State, is controlled by the Three Brotherhood Alliance.
Chinshwehaw, another border crossing to China in northern Shan State is controlled by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).
The Lweje border crossing to China in Kachin State is controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
The junta has also lost control of two border crossings with Thailand.
Myawaddy in Karen State, across the border from Thailand’s Mae Sot, and its surrounding areas are being controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) which recently stated that it would no longer support the junta.
The Mese border crossing with Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province in Karenni State has been occupied by Karenni Defence Forces.
On the border with India, the Chin National Army (CNA) has occupied the town of Rikhawdar in Chin State, across the border from Zokhawthar in Mizoram State, India.
In the 2023 to 2024 financial year, ending 31 March 2024, the cross-border trade at these six border crossings was over US$4 billion and it made up 52 per cent of the entire cross-border trade that financial
year, which was worth about US$7.6 billion, according to the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).
This was about US$800 million or nearly 10 per cent less than the total border trade the previous financial year, from 2022 to 2023, when cross-border trade was worth about US$ 8.4 billion.
But, trade is not only being disrupted at these border crossings. Trade is also being disrupted because rebel forces control the roads leading to the border, or there is fighting along those roads, meaning goods cannot freely get to and from the borders. Even on trade routes in Myanmar still under junta control, there is frequent fighting.
Traders said that the chaotic situation at border trade posts and on the routes to the borders has hit Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) particularly hard and caused supply chain disruptions and shortages of imported goods. It has also affected trading partners in neighbouring countries.
The junta Ministry of Economy and Commerce has told traders to change their trading routes and use sea routes rather than going overland.
The junta’s Directorate of Trade said that it would allow goods to travel to and from Thailand via container ships sailing between Yangon and Kawthaung, the most southern town in Myanmar, from where goods can still cross freely into and out of Thailand.
The Myanmar Port Authority also announced that due to the expected increase in maritime trade, it would increase its docking capacity for container ships so that it could accommodate 50 container ships in the month of April.
