Border trade between Myanmar and China has increased 228 percent during the current 2013-14 financial year, recent government data shows.
According to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) under the Ministry of Commerce, during April to December 2013, border trade soared to $2.88 billion from $879 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.
Exports from Myanmar accounted for $1.94 billion worth of trade, while imports from China stood at $940 million, data shows.
Officials attributed the large increase in trade volume to the government’s measures to curb illegal border trade and the increased trading activities of small business with Individual Trading Cards (ITC), which were implemented to encourage individuals with limited capital to engage in trading.
Muse, Chin Shwe Haw, Lwae Jae and Kan Pite Tee are the four checkpoints that are currently available for Myanmar–China border trade.
However, the government is preparing to open more border check points along the China and Thailand borders in order to boost trading activities, the DCCA said.
The Ministry of Commerce has projected total trade earnings of $25 billion for the entire 2013–14 fiscal year, of which 20 percent is expected to come from border trade and the rest from sea trade routes.
