According to the Myanmar Golden Phoenix News: “Myanmar’s economy will collapse and the lives of millions of people will be destroyed. No matter how things develop subsequently, Myanmar may have difficulty recovering for many years.” Recently, some scholars analyzed the Myanmar economy like this Prospects.
In this turmoil, no economic industry can be “isolated”. Take the garment processing industry as an example. In recent years, with the development of Myanmar’s economy and the investment of foreign capital, especially Chinese-funded enterprises, Myanmar’s garment processing industry has flourished and quickly accounted for one-third of Myanmar’s total export earnings.
United Nations trade data shows that Myanmar’s clothing exports increased from less than US$1 billion in 2011 to more than US$6.5 billion in 2019. This not only brings considerable tax revenue to Myanmar, but also creates an amazing number of jobs for the people. According to United Nations data, garment factories across Myanmar employ at least 700,000 workers.
Nowadays, the huge problems faced by Myanmar’s garment enterprises have an extremely serious impact on the national economy.
According to Reuters, Mr. Li, the owner of a foreign-owned factory, said, “If there are no new orders in the next few months, we will have no choice but to give up on Myanmar.” At present, the factory’s workload is only normal. About 20% of the time, for which he has laid off 400 workers. Many business owners said they are considering transferring capital to other low-cost clothing manufacturing countries, such as Cambodia and Vietnam.
In addition, because several large international clothing buyers refuse to trade with Myanmar, the number of orders has been “pitifully small.” The garment industry, which has just “overcame” the COVID-19 epidemic, has to continue to face a new round of challenges. The protests have left roads impassable, preventing many people from going to work, the banking system halting operations, and the normal movement of goods in and out. Moreover, large-scale vandalism, smashing, and arson against factories, especially Chinese-owned factories, has caused factory owners to lose their last hope. It has also caused more workers working in factories to lose valuable job opportunities, and subsequently lost the ability to support their families. You know, this industry provides many grassroots people in Myanmar with a way out of poverty. When workers leave the countryside to work in factories, they are able to regularly send money to their families.
After the “unrest” in Laydaya on March 14, hundreds of thousands of people left the industrial zone and returned to their hometowns to find jobs. These families lost their most important support in an instant.
The experience of the garment industry is just a microcosm of Myanmar’s many economic industries. For the catering industry, which has also developed rapidly in recent years, the double blow of the epidemic and turmoil is also destroying this industry.
According to Bloomberg news, Soe Yi, who runs a tea shop in Yangon, is now in a dilemma. His tea shop is located next to the demonstration area. If the demonstrators who are being hunted are allowed to enter the shop to escape, He himself may be arrested and his shop may be vandalized; if he turns away demonstrators who are evading arrest, once it is exposed on the social media, he may be criticized as a desperate man and be criticized by thousands of people. The tea shop may also be If it is boycotted, it may also be destroyed, and the business will still not be able to continue.
Soy said: “Now we can’t open our doors every day, but we have to pay rent, municipal fees, and wages regularly. If the crisis continues, I don’t know how long many tea shops in Yangon can last.”
Since the Myanmar National Defense Force took over power on February 1, triggering protests and demonstrations across the country, the business of many small business owners like Soe Yi has plummeted. New Western sanctions on Myanmar have also scared away investors. In addition to bringing government departments to a standstill, the strikes have also greatly affected various industries. For example, a strike by truck drivers has caused shipping companies to suspend operations and cargo containers to pile up at ports.
Today, amid the turbulent crisis in Myanmar, various economic industries are in “turbulence”. </p
