Moreh, Jul 31: The Indo-Myanmar trans-border trade which has failed to provide any benefit to the local people seems to on its last lap before the final collapse.

The huge popularity of goods imported from third countries in Myanmar and the huge monetary demands made by numerous UG groups in Manipur on the licence holders are the primary reasons for the downfall of the trans-border trade.

The Indo-Myanmar border trade was formally opened on April 12, 1995 by the then Union Minister of Commerce and Industries P Chidambaram.

According to Article III of the trade agreement signed between India and Myanmar on January 21, 1994, the trading system was opened under barter mechanism.





The traders are permitted to go inside 40 kms on either side of the international border and the list of trade items between the two countries included 22 items.

The items included in the agreement are mustard/rape seed, fresh vegetables, pulses and beans, fruits, garlic, onion, chillies, spices (excluding nutmeg, mace, cloves, cassia and cinnamon), betel nuts and leaves, food items for local consumption, tomato, roasted sunflower seeds, soyabean, katha and ginger.

The popular export items include wheat flour, soyabean, dry chillies, agarbati, peas and garlic while the mainimport items include betel nuts, turmeric, red kidney bean (rasma) resin and dry ginger.

For two/three years after the trans-border trade was formally opened, the volume of trade was huge but today, the volume has dwindled to a dismally low level.

According to official data, goods worth Rs 31,70,51,137 were exported while import volume was Rs 15,17,64,137 during 1996-97 but in 2004-05, it dwindled to just Rs 5,64,45,050 in export and Rs 5,00,81,749 in import.

A study of the trade since its opening revealed that Manipur does not stand to benefit much from the trans-border trade through Moreh.

Even as the trade route directly passes through Chandel district, its people are yet to get any kind of advantage or benefit from the IndoMyanmar trade.

Most of the people in the district are still dependent on traditional jhum cultivation or charcoal trade for their livelihood.

While talking with The Sangai Express at Moreh, Superintendent of Customs Preventive Force (CPF) DM Das informed that during the initial stage there were about 100 exim licence holders and most of them were non-Manipuris based at Imphal.

But today, their number have reduced to just 3/4.Following the rise in popularity of commodities imported from third countries in Myanmar, the Myanmarese Govt had prohibited import of wheat flour and soyabean from India, DM Das conveyed.

Another major factor responsible for the down fall of the trade is the repeated intimidation and monetary demand by numerous UG groups of Manipur against the licence holders, Das noted.

If urea, cycle, cycle parts, electrical appliances, bleaching powder, cotton yarn, auto and auto parts, utensils (stainless steel) and cosmetic items are added in the list of trading items and if the Letter of Credit is used through nationalised banks of India and Myanmar for sale and purchase of goods instead of the barter mechanism, the dying trans-border trade can be revived, opined DM Das.

Meanwhile, the State Government has proposed to the Union Government to increase the trading items through Moreh, informed an official source.

One Abujam Shamu who was once a licence holder of the trans-border trade but now a shopkeeper at Moreh said that he struggled hard to find a place for himself among the non-Manipuri licence holders with huge capital.

But he was constrained to give up his business following prohibition on export of some items to Myanmar by its Government which was compounded by the huge monetary demands from UG groups on this side of the border, he stated.

Among the local Manipuris of Moreh (including both Meiteis and Kukis) there is not a single individual with exim licence.

One licence holder Sunil Agarwal who is currently based at Moreh said that he was asked by the Kolkata based Kitply Industries Pvt Ltd to import 500 truck loads of timber from Myanmar.

Accordingly, 100 truck loads were brought to India in the first phase and unloaded at Forest Office complex of Moreh and at the ground of a local club.

But when he was yet to procure the demanded quantity of timber, Kitply Industries informed him that there was one Indrasen, president of the IndoMyanmar Friendship Organisation who could transport the timbers at a cheaper rate.

As Kitply turned their back against the earlier agreed transport rate, he stayed away from the assignment, Sunil disclosed.

After that, Indrasen took up the task of transporting the timbers to Kolkata.

After about 20 loads were sent to Kitply, Indrasen was shot dead by one UG group for his failure to pay their monetary demand, Sunil said.

Even a single truck load out of 20 sent by Indrasen failed to reach Kitply Industries, he conveyed.

Later, Kitply again asked Sunil to transport the timbers.

But then he is still unable to commence the transportation work thinking of the fate Indrasen suffered, he informed.

(This report is filed under AMWJU's Media Fellowship Award).

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