Myanmar's garment export value slipped by 20% between 1 October and 28 May of FY 2020-21

From October 1, 2020 to May 28, 2021, Myanmar's garment export value reached 2.193 billion USD, down by 20% and a drop of 524 million USD compared with the corresponding period of the previous years, according to Ministry of Commerce.

Myanmar’s manufacturing sector is largely concentrated in garment and textiles produced on the Cutting, Making, and Packaging basis, and exports imported feedstock to other countries after processing. Myanmar’s garment factories are striving to transform CMP into the free-on-board (FOB) system, owing to low CMP garments export profits. Compared with CMP system, the profit of FOB system is 10 times higher.

Myanmar mainly exports CMP garments to markets Europe, along with Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the US. Myanmar’s garment industry has been facing challenges such as cancellation of orders amid the pandemic.  

Myanmar's garment export data showed that the garment export value totaled 337 million USD in 2010. Since 2014, Myanmar has been supported by the EU GSP duty-free system, and the exports have rose by about three times, and the related investment in the garment industry has increased significantly. Additionally, the current political conditions dragged down the sector, Myanmar's PMI production index hit a new low in March, and new orders in the production industry fell dramatically. Productivity and new orders in Myanmar's production sector fell five times in April amid the pandemic and political unrest.