The Dawei-Hia Khee trade camp was shut down by the military council for more than four months due to security concerns, forcing the majority of the traders to stop trading completely, border traders told Than Lwin Times.

On April 24, the military council unilaterally closed the Dawei-Htee Khee border trade camp between Thailand and Myanmar, for security reasons.

The majority of traders first traded via the Myawaddy-Myeik route when the Dawei-Htee Khee trade camp closed, but due to rising general costs and a drop in the value of the Myanmar currency in exchange for the baht, business has halted.

"The trade situation has not improved recently. Rather than falling, trade has completely stopped. We can't export goods from the area around Htee Khee anymore," a border trader said.

The traders export primarily domestic goods like agricultural and aquatic products through Dawei- Htee Khee border trade camp while importing oil, cooking gas, food, and used items from Thailand.

Due to the closure of the Dawei-Htee Khee trade camp, the prices of Thai products have surged in the market, and traders cannot import local products to Thailand.

Currently, the Military Council and the Local People's Defense Forces are engaged in fierce fighting on the route leading to the Dawei-Htee Khee trade camp.

The Department of Trade falsely claimed that between April 1 and September 9 the Dawei-Htee Khee Trade camp had received more than $1 billion USD from the export sector and more than $6 million USD from the import sector.