The first Stakeholders’ Symposium for updating the NES was aimed at boosting Myanmar’s export performance in the global economy and was attended by Vice President U Myint Swe and commerce minister U Than Myint.

The event provided stakeholders with an opportunity to examine the current challenges in regard to Myanmar’s export performance as well as the need for a strong export and policy framework to assist development, said U Zaw Min Win, President of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce.

The NES 2020-2025, which will replace the NES 2015-2019, will address competitiveness constraints, modernise regulatory systems for improved efficiency and boost Myanmar industries with the aim of increasing exports.

In addition, objectives will be designated to improve opportunities for Myanmar’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and exporters in regional and global trade. The updated NES will guide the development of new exporters while supporting the growth of traditional export industries.

The NES could help Myanmar secure a pivotal role in the region, said Gail Marzetti, head of UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) Myanmar. “With the rapid development of trade corridors across the region, increasing integration into global value chains and the growing demands of Asian consumers, Myanmar is strategically located to grow. The NES is an important instrument to leverage these opportunities and deliver key goals of the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan.”

The symposium is the first of a series of NES consultations initiated by the Ministry of Commerce and supported by the Trade and Investment Project (TIP), which is being implemented by the International Trade Centre.

Launched earlier this month, the TIP, which would run from 2019-21, is funded by a US$5.28 million grant from DFID. The TIP’s focus is to support the NES by improving trade competitiveness and helping to remove trade bottlenecks in the business environment.

The current NES, which runs from 2015-19, has a list of 11 prioritised sectors, which includes rice; beans pulses and  oilseeds; fisheries; forestry products; textiles and garment; rubber; tourism; information and promotion; trade facilitation and logistics; access to finance; and quality management as supporting services to improve export.

The Ministry of Commerce will be adding fruits and vegetables, gems and jewelry, handicrafts, processed food products and digital business as potential export sectors for the updated NES. U Aung Soe added that the states and divisions of the country will then work on developing the prioritised sectors assigned to them.

Myanmar exports items from seven major commodity groups. These include manufactured goods consisting mainly of garments, as well as agriculture produce, minerals, cattle, fisheries and forestry products.

In comparison, Myanmar’s major import items are divided into four groups – capital goods, intermediate goods, consumer goods and cut-make-pack garment products.

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/updated-national-export-strategy-add-new-sectors-address-constraints.html