Myanmar's foreign trade rose 16 percent last year

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Myanmars-foreign-trade-rose-apf-14697771.html


Myanmar's foreign trade rose 16 percent last year; imports jump 31 percent
Friday March 20, 2009, 4:18 am EDT
Buzz up! Print YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Myanmar's foreign trade rose by 16.7 percent to $10.34 billion in the first 11 months of 2008 over the same period a year earlier, a government report said.

Exports rose 9.5 percent to $6.42 billion from $5.86 billion the previous year, the Ministry of National Planning and Development report said.

Imports jumped 30.8 percent to $3.91 billion compared to $2.99 billion a year earlier. Government sector imports increased 121.8 percent to $1.64 billion, representing 41.8 percent of total import value.

The report said that natural gas exports, which accounted for about 38 percent of all export revenue, declined 4.7 percent in value to $2.44 billion from $ 2.56 billion. Myanmar's gas exports go to neighboring Thailand.

The United States and the European Union have imposed economic sanctions against Myanmar to pressure the military government to improve human rights and release detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.