Myanmar’s foreign trade posted a rise of $3.65 billion, or 29.7 percent, in the first nine months of the current fiscal year over the same period in the last fiscal, according to Ministry of Commerce data.
The total trade volume reached $15.92 billion during April to December in 2013-14 fiscal year, of which maritime trade accounted for $13.28 billion and border trade $2.64 billion.
Exports through sea routes amounted to $5.59 billion while imports recorded $7.7 billion, the data shows.
Myanmar’s main export items include rice, maize, peas and beans, sesame, rubber, marine products, teak, hard wood, natural gas, jade and garment while import items include dairy products, palm oil, pharmaceutical products, cement, machinery, electronic equipment and plastics.
The government has set a total trade target of $25 billion, 80 percent of which are expected from overseas trade and the rest from border trade.
The main exporting destinations for Myanmar in that period were China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, the UK, the US and the Philippines.
Myanmar has recently signed border trade agreements with India, Thailand, China and Bangladesh in a bid to boost trade.
