ISP-Myanmar reported on February 23 that the gap of nearly 11 billion US dollars in Myanmar-China trade in the eight months of the 2022-2023 fiscal year suggests a rise in illegal exports or illegal trade between the two countries.

Comparing the two countries’ statements, the military council stated that the trade value from April to November of last year was only more than 6 billion US dollars, whereas the statement of the Chinese Customs Department said that the trade with Myanmar during the same period was almost 17 billion US dollars.

An independent research organization called ISP-Myanmar claimed that while Myanmar appears to register only official trade data, China keeps a record of all commodities entering the country from Myanmar.

The study further shows that, when comparing the value of trade between the two nations over an eight-month period, the figure of the Chinese Customs Department exceeds the statistic of Myanmar by more than two times every month.

According to data compiled by ISP-Myanmar, citing statements from the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), Myanmar earned more than US$ 400 million from exports of rare earth minerals to China in eight months.

Since the military council has not officially released data on the export of rare earth metals, it is possible that the rare earth metals entering China through the border can be considered an illegal trade.

ISP-Myanmar announced that the trade in the five border trade zones of Muse, Kyaing Tong, Chin Shwe Haw, Lwegel, and Kanpaite stations for 2022 has decreased by more than 277 million US dollars compared to the same eight months last year.