Myanmar’s long-awaited National Export Strategy (NES) has been drafted and is awaiting parliamentary approval, said Daw Thida Win Htay, assistant director of the Department of Export Development.
The drafting of the plan, which started in 2012, is a response to the need to increase exports by expanding market access for local producers and products, and will help Myanmar’s rapid growth continue to gain momentum, said Thida Win Htay.
“All four steps of the strategy have been fully drafted. Once we get confirmation from the government we can implement the strategy,” she added.
Advisor to the Myanmar Beans, Pulses and Sesame Entrepreneurs Association, U Soe Win Myint, said the NES includes strategies targeting the country’s agriculture, rubber, textiles, tourism and marine product industries.
“Before the NES, bean and pulse exports were the main export sector.Once one NES is approved, it’s going to be a challenge to break into the market and access the technology needed to remain competitive,” U Soe Win Myint said.
The German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ) provided technical assistance to authorities and local entrepreneurs drafting the NES.
GIZ policy advisor, Dr Tin Htoo Naing, said using international organisations other than GIZ in the future will help the NES manage export strategies more closely in each sector.
“There’s a section where GIZ transfers its operation to the International Trade Centre,” Dr Tin Htoo Naing said.
The International Trade Centre has already begun implementing NES schemes targeting the travel and tourism industry in Kayah state.
Secretary of Myanmar Rubber Plantation and Production Association, U Khaing Myint, said the quality, quantity and operation times of exports must be supervised for the national strategy to succeed.
“Once the government approves the NES, there are many processes which need to be carried out,” he said.
