The New Nation - Internet Edition

XINHUA, Yangon

The border trade between Myanmar and Bangladesh at Maungtaw trade point is expected to reach 10 million U.S. dollars in the present fiscal year 2008-09, according to Sunday's local news journal Flower News.

In 2007-08, it registered over 8 million dollars' transaction at the Maungtaw border trade point in western Rakhine state mainly with marine products.

Maungtaw remains one of the two border trade points between Myanmar and Bangladesh. The other is Sittway.

Official statistics show that Myanmar exported 23,000 tons of marine products to Bangladesh annually, standing as Bangladesh's fifth largest marine products importing country out of 30. Currently, Myanmar and Bangladesh are engaged more in border trade than normal trade. Besides marine products, Myanmar's exports to Bangladesh also cover beans and pulses and kitchen crops, while its imports from Bangladesh include pharmaceuticals, ceramic, cotton fabric, raw jute, kitchenware and cosmetic.

Myanmar and Bangladesh formally opened border trade in 1994.

According to the figures of the Ministry of Commerce, bilateral trade between Myanmar and Bangladesh stood over 60 million U.S. dollars annually with the balance of trade favoring Myanmar.

The two countries are striving to increase their bilateral trade to 100 million dollars, the sources said.