Myanmar: Trade Profile

Foreign Trade in Figures

Myanmar's relatively dynamic foreign trade is generally subject to state control, although the current reforms are aiming to liberalise the market. International trade represented 53% of the country's GDP in 2021 (World Bank, 2023) in decline in the last couple of years. Customs duties have been reduced, and there are few non-tariff trade barriers, with the exception of government controls (import limitations). Import licenses have been partially abolished and taxes on exports decreased. Myanmar is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 1995 and of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The country mainly exports petroleum (15,7% of all exports in 2021), dried legumes (6.24%), precious stones (5.7%) women's coats (4.44%) and rare-earth metal compounds (3.94%); while for imports the major products are refined petroleum (12.4% of all imports), fabrics (4.9%), packaged medicines (2.27%) and broadcasting equipments with 1.93% (World Bank, 2023).

In geographical terms, China is, by far, the main destination for Myanmar exports (29.5%), followed by Thailand (23.1%), Japan (6%) and India (5.7%). Imports come from China (29.4%), Singapore (19.1%), Thailand (14.4%), and Indonesia with 8.4% (OEC, 2023).

Myanmar has made progress in exports, resulting in a positive trade balance. Official export figures are underestimated due to the valuable goods that are smuggled to neighbouring countries like Thailand, China, and Bangladesh (especially timber, gems, narcotics and rice). According to the latest figures from WTO, Myanmar exported a total of 17.29 billion USD and imported 16.14 billion USD in 2021, resulting in a trade surplus of 17.27 billion USD.

Foreign Trade Indicators	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Imports of Goods (million USD)	19,253	19,355	18,588	17,947	14,322
Exports of Goods (million USD)	13,879	16,704	17,997	16,692	15,145
Imports of Services (million USD)	2,863	3,373	3,584	3,421	1,822
Exports of Services (million USD)	3,756	4,421	6,459	4,332	2,149
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change)	10	-2	-8	6	-22
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change)	13	12	11	8	-18
Trade Balance (million USD)	-5,767	-4,132	-2,850	n/a	n/a
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP)	61	62	61	55	53
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP)	35	34	30	26	25
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP)	26	28	30	29	28

Source: WTO – World Trade Organisation ; World Bank - Latest available data.

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers (% of Exports)	2022
Thailand	22.5%
China	21.6%
Japan	7.1%
India	5.3%
United States	4.5%
Germany	4.0%
United Kingdom	3.6%
Spain	3.6%
Netherlands	3.2%
Poland	2.7%
Belgium	2.1%
South Korea	2.0%
Italy	1.8%
Malaysia	1.7%
Vietnam	1.4%
Singapore	1.2%
Philippines (the)	1.2%
Bangladesh	1.1%
Denmark	1.0%
France	0.9%
See More Countries	39.1%

Main Suppliers (% of Imports)	2022
China	32.1%
Singapore	24.8%
Thailand	12.4%
Malaysia	6.6%
Indonesia	6.0%
India	3.2%
Vietnam	2.3%
Japan	1.6%
South Korea	1.6%
United Arab Emirates	1.0%
United States	1.0%
Australia	0.6%
Oman	0.5%
Germany	0.5%
Brazil	0.4%
Brunei Darussalam	0.4%
Türkiye	0.3%
Argentina	0.3%
France	0.3%
Sweden	0.3%
See More Countries	18.2%

Source: Comtrade, Latest Available Data

To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows

Main Services

4.9 bn USD of services exported in 2019
TravelTravel	50.44%
Other business servicesOther business services	29.98%
TransportationTransportation	7.73%
Government servicesGovernment services	4.55%
Computer and information servicesComputer and information services	3.04%
Construction servicesConstruction services	2.76%
Cultural and recreational servicesCultural and recreational services	0.93%
Royalties and license feesRoyalties and license fees	0.34%
Financial servicesFinancial services	0.22%

3.6 bn USD of services imported in 2019
TransportationTransportation	45.27%
Other business servicesOther business services	32.13%
Computer and information servicesComputer and information services	7.37%
TravelTravel	5.24%
Construction servicesConstruction services	3.55%
Government servicesGovernment services	2.29%
Cultural and recreational servicesCultural and recreational services	1.54%
Insurance servicesInsurance services	1.47%
Royalties and license feesRoyalties and license fees	0.92%
Financial servicesFinancial services	0.22%

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, Latest Available Data

Commercial Policy

International Economic Cooperation: Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),AFTA and the ASEAN - China Free Trade Area.
Member of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
Assessment of Commercial Policy: Country’s commercial policy
Average Customs Duty (Excluding Agricultural Products): 4.61%

Trade Compliance

International Conventions: Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
International Economic Cooperation: Member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),AFTA and the ASEAN - China Free Trade Area.
Member of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
Useful Resources: The National Customs

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