Steering Committee Meeting: Addressing Myanmar's trade gap and combating illegal trade

A Illegal Trade Eradication Steering Committee held its meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday. Chairman of the Steering Committee Vice Chairman of the State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice Senior General Soe Win attended the meeting and made a speech.

The Vice Senior General highlighted a trade gap of over 6 to 12 billion US dollars, according to data from the International Trade Centre. This gap, observed in a survey comparing Myanmar's trade with major partners including China, Thailand, India, and Japan, underscores the prevalence of illegal trade activities. He emphasized that these illicit activities significantly hinder the nation's trade development and called for the collective effort of all citizens to eradicate illegal trade.

The illegal import of medicines, cosmetics, foodstuff, and consumer goods, have often sold online, and the Vice Senior General urged the Special Task Force and relevant departments to take effective action against these practices.

Since the reform of the Steering Committee, over 250 billion kyats worth of illegal trade items have been seized in more than 12,000 cases as of April 2024. Most of these seizures from February to April this year were conducted by the Customs Department, with the Mandalay Region topping the list, followed by Kachin State and Tanintharyi Region.