India Added 22 New Items to promote Indo-Myanmar Border Trade

Indian Government in the month of November added 22 commodities such as agricultural tools, bicycle, coal and garments in the list of items for border trade with Myanmar to boost the two-way commerce between the neighbours.

The new items added and revised in the list of 40 tradable items was confirmed in a public notice by Director General of Foreign Trade which now make the list of 62 Consolidated items.

The other new items included are edible oil, electrical appliances, steel products, medicines, tea, beverages, motor cycles and spare parts, semi precious stone, sewing machines and three wheelers/cars below 100 cc.

As per Industry led Organisation CII, the bilateral trade between India and Myanmar is expected to double by 2015 from the current level of USD 1.3 billion, on the back of free trade agreement between New Delhi and Asean region.Myanmar is a key member of the 10-nation bloc Asean.

About Indo-Myanmar Border Trade

It has been seen that bilateral relations between Myanmar and India is considerably improving since 1993, overcoming strains over drug trafficking the suppression of democracy and the rule of the military junta in Burma. The proximity of the People's Republic of China gives strategic importance to Indo-Burmese relations.

India is one of the largest market for Burmese exports, it is supported from the fact that India is Myanmar’s 4th largest trading partner after Thailand, China and Singapore, and second largest export market after Thailand, absorbing 25 percent of its total exports.

The Indian government had improved air, land and sea routes to strengthen trade links with Myanmar and establish a gas pipeline. The bilateral border trade agreement of 1994 provides for border trade to be carried out from three designated border points, one each in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.