Table 1: Myanmar Agricultural Production Data

  Year
2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016
Commodity (April – (April- (April- (April-
March) March) March) Sept)
Agricultural
Products (US$ 2,636.9 2,674.9 2,923.5 1,367.6
Million)
Total Exports
8,977.0 11,204.0 12,523.7 5,611.0
(US$ Million)
% of agriculture
export in total 29.37 23.87 23.34 24.37
export
Source: Statistical Year Book (CSO)
Industries in Myanmar
Myanmar has a very underdeveloped industrial and manufacturing sector,
especially in terms of employing people. It has the potential to employ a lot more
as labor is very cheap. On multinationals setting up shop in Myanmar, David
Webb, of UK Trade & Investment, said, "Myanmar's manufacturing industry has
pretty much been wiped out by sanctions. Foreign companies have money and
access to expertise, markets and knowledge of supply chains... it gives them an
advantage." [Source: Aidan Jones, AFP, March 14, 2013]

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 70 percent; industry: 7 percent services:

23 percent (2001) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 38.8 percent;
industry: 19.3 percent; services: 41.8 percent (2012 est.); GDP - composition by
sector (percent) agriculture: 54.6 percent, industry: 13 percent, services: 32.4
percent (2005 est.). Industrial production growth rate: 4.3 percent (2010 est.),
country comparison to the world: 69. [Source: CIA World Factbook]

The private sector dominates in agriculture, light industry, and transport activities,
while the military government controls energy, heavy industry, and rice trade.
Industries have traditionally been small and family-owned. Wood carving, stone
sculpting and brass casting are local industries. Tobacco, cheroots, cigars and some
jute are produced. The red, green, white and black trades are the most lucrative
enterprises in Myanmar. The colors refer to rubies, jade, heroin and opium (See
Rubies, Jade, Opium, Heroin) There is also commerce in gold, sapphires, teaks,
diamonds, oil, rubber.

Inefficiencies remain: some of them a legacy of out-dated socialist policies. The

lack of an educated workforce skilled in modern technology prevents the economy
developing, maturing and being competitive. The country also lacks adequate
infrastructure. Goods travel primarily across the Thai border (where most illegal
drugs are exported) and along the Ayeyarwady River. Railroads are old and
rudimentary, with few repairs since their construction in the late nineteenth
century. Highways are normally unpaved, except in the major cities. Energy
shortages are common throughout the country including in Yangon.

Important Industries in Myanmar

Important industries: agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and
wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals;
fertilizer; cement; natural gas. Many of Myanmar’s saw mills, cement factories,
rice mills, textiles factories and steel mills have traditionally been in the Rangoon
area. Mandalay is a center for many crafts.

Burma is also the world's second largest producer of opium, accounting for 8
percent of entire world production and is a major source of illegal drugs, including
amphetamines. Other industries include agricultural goods, textiles, wood
products, construction materials, gems, metals, oil and natural gas. [Source:
Wikipedia]

According to Countries and Their Cultures: “ Industrial production focuses on

goods for local consumption, although a handful of factories produce for
exportation. Local industries include textiles and footwear, wood processing,
mining, the production of construction materials, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizer
manufacturing. Although the country has substantial gem, oil, and natural gas
reserves, extraction and processing capabilities are limited. There is a small tourist
industry. There has been a dramatic growth in the number of hotels built since the
introduction of economic reforms. Travel restrictions and poor infrastructure have
concentrated the tourist industry in a few areas. [Source: Countries and Their
Cultures everyculture.com ]

There has been something of a construction boom in downtown Rangoon as

investors from Hong Kong and Singapore have financed new hotels and office
buildings. Otherwise relatively few buildings have been built since colonial times.
Paint and plaster is peeling, despite cosmetic whitewashing.

Silk Weaving in Myanmar

Weaving is a highly developed traditional art form in Myanmar. Among the
Burmese, it reached its highest form in the production of lun-taya acheik cloth. The
technique was brought from Manipur in the eighteenth century, but the complex
motifs are distinctly Burmese. This style of cloth is still woven near Mandalay for
sale to elite Burmese. There are distinctive textile traditions among the ethnic
minorities. [Source: Myanmar Travel Information ~]

Burmese proudly wear hand-woven silk materials on auspicious occasions.

Traditional turbans, jackets and longyis worn by Myanmar men are made of silk
while intricate acheik designs woven with over 100 silk threads are a feature of silk
blouses and silk shawls proudly worn by Myanmar ladies. Although the colors and
patterns of silk-woven materials have changed since the time of Myanmar kings.
they are still proudly worn by Burmese. ~

To make silk thread firstly three or four raw silk threads from a cocoon are twisted
tightly with the aid of the machine and made taunt and smooth. After that
impurities are removed by washing the threads in a boiled soap-nut liquid. You
will have to boil and wash more thoroughly the threads which are used for the
designs. because they need to be softer than ordinary silk thread. After dyeing the
threads for about 30 minutes in boiling dye-filled water you have to rinse the
excessive dye from the threads. This step may be repeated several to acquire the
desired color. Then the dyed threads are dried in the sunlight. In this way. you get
beautiful smooth dyed-silk threads. ~

To weave the silk threads you wind the threads on a machine or a loom. After
attaching the bobbins on the loom the weavers will weave the desired acheik
patterns. The acheik patterns are horizontal wavy lines of various sizes and
numbers. There are up to 300 small bobbins used to weave very intricate and
complicated acheik designs. Traditionally, acheiks have names like “royal thread,”
“6 design thread,” “5 design thread,” “4 design thread” and so forth—depending
on the usage of color and the number of small bobbins used for the particular
design. In the old days, people used to prefer the acheik with more colors. But
nowadays people prefer soft and smooth silk threads of only two or three colors. ~

Traditional Acheik designs woven with more modern colors and designs are
winning the hearts of locals and foreign visitors. Both women and men wear
lovely, colorful silk acheiks to special occasions like weddings and important
festive ceremonies. Men's silk have diamond, jasmine or pearl designs. In
Amarapura city, not far from Mandalay, 100-shuttle looms make acheik pasoes and
shawls woven in a variety of designs and colors. ~

Textile Factories in Myanmar

Textiles with the "Made in Myanmar" began showing up more and more in
American department stores in the 1990s. One garment factory from that time, a
South Korean-military partnership, employed 1,200 female sewers outside
Rangoon,

There are many garment factories in the industrial zone of Hlaing Tharyard in
Yangon Factories have produced sweatshirts that say “I Love This Game” for the
NBA and sexy lingerie. Many were closed own after the U.S. imposed sanctions in
2003 that named imports from Myanmar. Some who lost their jobs found worked
at reopened factories like the Korean-owned Wa Hong Hon factory, which
produced cheap T-shirts and paid workers $15 a month.

In March 2012, six of Thailand's largest garment manufacturers announced that

they would move production to Burma, principally to the Yangon area, citing
lower labor costs there.

U.S. Sanctions Hurt Myanmar Industry But Asia Keeps It Going

Alan Sipress wrote in the Washington Post, “Burmese industry and exports were
on the decline in the 1990s as a result of progressive attempts by the United States
to tighten economic sanctions on Burma, protesting its suppression of democracy.
More than half of Burma's 400 garment factories closed after the trade sanctions
were approved, and many workers returned to their village homes or found work in
new plants just over the Thai border, said businessmen and foreign economic
experts. Those who kept their jobs saw their wages drop. [Source: Alan Sipress,
Washington Post, January 7, 2006 //\\]

“But the effort to pressure Myanmar rulers was vastly undercut by Asian
neighbors, anxious to tap its cheap workforce and abundant natural resources and
in some cases by making goods for country that imposed sanctions on Myanmar.
Sipress wrote: “ Hundreds of women leaned over sewing machines amid the soft
whir of industry. Row after row they sat, dark eyes intent on work, cheeks smeared
with a traditional chalky cosmetic made from tree bark. The workers were stitching
a sample batch of women's trousers ordered by a Taiwanese company for sale in
Europe. If successful, the Burmese factory owner anticipates a follow-up order of
as many as half a million pieces, which would make for a very busy year. "We've
suffered a lot, but it's getting better and better," he said. "There are so many new
buyers." //\\
 “When trade sanctions blocked garment exports to the United States in 2003,
subcontracting work from China kept some factories working, businessmen said.
The garment industry was one of the few sectors hit hard by the embargo. About
80 percent of Burma's garment exports had gone to the U.S. market, valued by
officials at about $470 million a year. According to Khine Khine Nwe, managing
director of Best Industrial Company and a board member of the Myanmar Garment
Manufacturers Association, Burmese businessmen kept less than $50 million of
this while foreign companies supplying the fabric and buying the finished products
took the rest. //\\

“Since then, business has picked up, with Burmese factories receiving mounting
orders from Korean, Taiwanese and other Asian companies selling primarily in
Europe, manufacturers said. But behind the high metal gates of one Rangoon
factory, the plant owner complained that foreign companies knew Burmese
manufacturers were in a weak position, so they offered low prices and placed
difficult orders that other countries turn down. He said with a thin smile that he had
no choice but to accept. "If we don't get enough orders, we send our workers home
after half a day," he said, motioning toward the young women outside the door of
his factory office. But suddenly turning upbeat, he added, "Next year will be better.
More orders will come." //\\

Automobile Industry in Myanmar

In February 2013, AFP reported: “Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp said it
would resume production in Myanmar. Small-vehicle producer Suzuki, which has
seen huge success in India with its Maruti Suzuki unit, said it would invest about
US$7 million to restart its wholly owned Suzuki (Myanmar) Motor unit in the
commercial capital, Yangon. Production started in May at the factory that was
operated as a joint venture with Myanmar’s government from 1998 and 2010, a
Suzuki spokesman said. The plant closed after the contract expired, the spokesman
added, without saying why the agreement was not extended at the time. [Source:
AFP, February 27, 2013 **]
 The factory in the Thilawa district f Yangon, will initially produce just 100 Carry
mini-trucks monthly for the local market, with up to 90 local employees. “With
Myanmar’s democratization efforts, investment activities [by foreign firms] are in
a full swing,” the spokesman said. “The auto market might be in a transition
period. But we expect the market to grow, and we wanted to be there when it
does.” **

In March 2013, said it would open in May its first showroom in Yangon,
Myanmar as the automaker is “gearing up for market entry” even though there us
almost no market for new cars as the duties on them are so high.

Image Sources:

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of
London, Lonely Planet Guides, The Irrawaddy, Myanmar Travel Information
Compton’s Encyclopedia, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian
magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street
Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Global Viewpoint (Christian
Science Monitor), Foreign Policy, burmalibrary.org, burmanet.org, Wikipedia,
BBC, CNN, NBC News, Fox News and various books and other publications.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

1 acre (ac) = 0.405 hectares
1 hectare = 2.471 acres
1 kilogram (kg) = 2.200 pounds
1 000 kg = 1 tonne
1 kilometre (km) = 0.62 mile
1 metre (m) = 1.09 yards or 3.28 feet
1 square metre (m2) = 10.76 square feet
1 acre (ac) = 0.405 hectares
1 hectare (ha) = 2.47 acres
1 millimetre (mm) = 0.03937 inches