U Tin Aung Oo, chairman of the Rakhine State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RSCCI), said efforts were being made to establish direct trade with Bangladesh through Myanmar’s Arakan State this year.
At present, border trade camps are being set up to export commodities to Teknaf, Bangladesh, via Sittwe and Maungdaw in Arakan State, and efforts are being made to trade directly with the port of Chittagong, he said.
“Border trade, on the other hand, is not conducive to large-scale trade. In addition, some goods are known to have some difficulties for traders in Bangladesh. That is why we are trying to trade with a direct trade system rather than border trade,” he said.
U Tin Aung Oo continued that a first round of talks was held in Sittwe on June 17 between Bangladeshi and Arakanese traders to enable direct trade.
The RSCCI leader said the Bangladeshi ambassador was present during the meeting, and that traders from Bangladesh and Arakan State had held talks with each other.
“According to the Bangladeshi ambassador, an agreement was signed in 2007-08 to operate a coastal cargo line between the two countries. Only then can direct trade with Bangladesh begin. It needs to be implemented by the relevant authorities. We are trying our best,” he added.
“Arakan State is a rice-producing state,” said Ko Aung Aung, a merchant. “In the past, Bangladesh said it did not want to buy rice from Arakan State, but now it is said that it is also interested in rice from Arakan State. If rice could be exported directly to Bangladesh, it would be beneficial for Arakan State.”
U Khin Maung Gyi, a veteran businessman, said that if direct trade was possible, the Arakanese people would be able to buy some goods cheaply and trade would grow more rapidly.
“Border trade is not fast and it cannot export enough goods as needed. There is still much to be done to boost border trade between the two countries. Therefore, I think the relevant authorities should make direct trade with Bangladesh as soon as possible,” he said.
