Myanmar marine product export drops

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/015200812221021.htm

YANGON (Xinhua): Myanmar's marine product exports amounted to 353 million U.S. dollars in the nearly three quarters of the fiscal year 2008-09 ending March, a drop of 30 million dollars from 2007-08's 387 million dollars correspondingly, the local Weekly Eleven News reported Monday.

Citing the figures of the Fishery Department up to Dec. 15, the report attributed the fall to the impact of the global financial crisis.

The department revealed that purchase order from abroad was down by 50 percent compared with normalcy, while domestic purchase power fell by 40 percent.

Along with the reduction of foreign market demand, price of fish also dropped in the domestic market, the report added. Of Myanmar's marine exports, fish, prawn and crab are leading.


In 2007-08, Myanmar exported 352,652 tons of marine products, gaining 561 million U.S. dollars, according to official statistics.

In Myanmar's marine export country line-up, China stood atop, followed by Thailand, Japan and Singapore.

The country's fishery sector remained as the fourth largest contributor to the gross domestic product and also the fourth largest source of foreign exchange earning during the past five years.

Meanwhile, Myanmar is cooperating with a regional organization of the Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) in conducting survey of marine resources in the country's waters, focusing species with commercial potential, local media said.

With a long coastline of over 2,800 km and a total area of 500, 000 hectares of swamps along the coast, the country has an estimated sustainable yield of marine products at over one million tons a year.


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Agri. & Commodities