That dollar amount results from a -18.6% drop from $18.1 billion in exports sold five years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the value of Myanmar’s exported goods shrunk -13.6% from $17.1 billion starting from 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Myanmar kyat depreciated by -38.3% against the US dollar since 2019 and weakened by -8.7% from 2022 to 2023. Its weaker local currency in 2023 made Myanmar’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively lesser expensive for international buyers.
Note that Burma is another name often used to refer to Myanmar.
The top 5 most valuable exports from Myanmar are petroleum gases, dried shelled vegetables, rice, unknitted and non-crocheted women’s coats and jackets, then unknitted and non-crocheted women’s other clothing. Added together, Myanmar’s 5 major exports accounted for 45.6% of the country’s overall shipments by value.
Main Customers for Myanmar’s Exported Products
The latest available country-specific data shows that 84.1% of products exported from Myanmar was bought by importers in: Thailand (24.3% of Myanmar’s total), mainland China (23.2%), Japan (8.1%), India (5.7%), United States of America (4%), Germany (3.5%), Poland (3.2%), Spain (3%), South Korea (2.7%), United Kingdom (2.35%), Netherlands (2%) and Italy (1.9%).
From a continental perspective, 73.1% of Myanmar’s exports by value was delivered to fellow Asian countries while 21.6% was sold to importers in Europe. Myanmar shipped another 4.6% worth of goods to North America.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in Latin America (0.27%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Oceania (0.22%) led by Australia, then Africa (0.18%).
Myanmar’s population in 2023 was 54.2 million people. Considering Myanmar’s $14.75 billion in total exports, there is an average $270 in exported goods per resident. That dollar metric lags the average $320 per capita one year earlier during 2022.
Myanmar’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value global shipments from Myanmar during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Myanmar.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$3.6 billion (24.2% of total exports)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $2.9 billion (19.7%)
- Vegetables: $1.6 billion (10.7%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $1.5 billion (10%)
- Cereals: $1.2 billion (8.1%)
- Fish: $658.7 million (4.5%)
- Ships, boats: $459.1 million (3.1%)
- Footwear: $381.3 million (2.6%)
- Fruits, nuts: $258.2 million (1.8%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $235.3 million (1.6%)
Myanmar’s top 10 exports accounted for 86.3% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Highly capital-intensive ships and boats was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 3,353% from 2022 to 2023.
The other category posting increased export sales was for vegetables via a 0.6% advance.
The leading decliner among Myanmar’s top 10 export categories was for rubber both as material and items made from rubber, incurring a -47.4% year-over-year reduction.
From the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, petroleum gases represent Myanmar’s most valuable exported product accounting for 23.3% of the country’s total. In second place were dried shelled vegetables (9.8%) trailed by rice (5%), unknitted and non-crocheted women’s coats and jackets (3.9%), unknitted and non-crocheted women’s clothing (3.6%), knitted or crocheted jerseys and pullovers (3.1%), light vessels, fireboats and floating docks (3.1%), unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits and trousers (3.1%), corn (also 3.1%), then unknitted and non-crocheted men’s coats and jackets (2.9%).
Products Generating Myanmar’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Burmese product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): US$2.9 billion (Down by -18.5% since 2021)
- Vegetables: $1.6 billion (Up by 0.6%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $1.5 billion (Down by -25.5%)
- Cereals: $1 billion (Down by -22.9%)
- Fish: $645.2 million (Down by -9.8%)
- Footwear: $332.2 million (Down by -39.2%)
- Fruits, nuts: $238.1 million (Down by -6.4%)
- Oil seeds: $188.9 million (Down by -15.6%)
- Leather/animal gut articles: $164.2 million (Down by -36.6%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $156.3 million (Down by -54%)
Myanmar has highly positive net exports in the international trade of clothing and accessories. In turn, these cashflows indicate Myanmar’s strong competitive advantages particularly under clothing and accessories product categories–and notably unknitted or non-crocheted goods.
Products Causing Myanmar’s Worst Trade Deficits
Myanmar racked up an overall -US$1.7 billion trade deficit for 2023, expanding by 429.2% from -$318.8 million in red ink for 2022.
Below are exports from Myanmar that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Myanmar’s goods trail Burmese importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.8 billion (Up by 51.7% since 2021)
- Machinery including computers: -$862.6 million (Up by 13.9%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$649.9 million (Down by -9.3%)
- Manmade filaments: -$632 million (Up by 21.4%)
- Fertilizers: -$586.7 million (Down by -0.01%)
- Iron, steel: -$562 million (Up by 8.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$544.1 million (Down by -3.5%)
- Manmade staple fibers: -$539.4 million (Down by -31.2%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$537.8 million (Down by -17.1%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$407.8 million (Down by -32.5%)
Myanmar has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits, particularly for refined petroleum oils under the mineral fuels including oil product category.
Myanma Export Companies
Not one Myanma corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Myanmar. Selected examples are shown below:
- Aeon Display and Security System (display and security systems)
- Asia World (conglomerate including imports/exports)
- Htoo Group of Companies (holding firm including wood exports)
- Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (oil, gas)
- Myanmar Distribution Group (consumer goods)
- Myint & Associates (industrial transportation)
- Red Link Communications (telecommunications)
- Shan Star (automobiles)
In macroeconomic terms, Myanmar’s total exported goods represent 5.4% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($272.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 5.4% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 lags the 7.8% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Myanmar’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Myanmar’s unemployment rate averaged 2.84% for 2023, up from an average 2.83% for 2033 according to Statista metrics.
Myanmar’s capital city is Nay Pyi Taw.
See also Myanmar’s Top 10 Imports, Thailand’s Top Trading Partners, Japan’s Top Trading Partners, India’s Top Trading Partners, Malaysia’s Top Trading Partners and Poland’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook East Asia/Southeast Asia: Burma. Accessed on September 10, 2024
Forbes 2023 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 10, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 10, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 10, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 10, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on September 10, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Myanmar. Accessed on September 10, 2024
Wikipedia, Myanmar. Accessed on September 10, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on September 10, 2024