• Burmese
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Dollar Exchange Rate Climbs, Shakes Up Burma’s Business Community

Kyaw Hsu Mon by Kyaw Hsu Mon
November 17, 2016
in Business
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Employees count and pack money inside a bank in Rangoon. / Minzayar / Reuters

Employees count and pack money inside a bank in Rangoon. / Minzayar / Reuters

8.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — The US dollar exchange rate—at its highest since the new government came to power in April—has Burma’s business community looking for better trade policy.

“In the black market, the exchange rate is currently 1306 kyats [US$1] per dollar; it’s too high for importers. If the import demand increases, it could impact the prices of daily commodities, making them increase, too,” said U Zaw Min, a rice trader in Rangoon.

The Central Bank of Myanmar places the official exchange rate at 1287 kyats per dollar. Observers say that a major cause for the spike in the exchange rate is less foreign direct investment to Burma, while local demand for imported items has increased.

RelatedPosts

TNLA Invites Investment in Ruby and Mineral Towns Amid Myanmar Junta Onslaught

TNLA Invites Investment in Ruby and Mineral Towns Amid Myanmar Junta Onslaught

July 14, 2025
393
KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

July 11, 2025
957
Drafting Voters as Cannon-Fodder; Rewarding Lackey Ladies; and More

Drafting Voters as Cannon-Fodder; Rewarding Lackey Ladies; and More

July 5, 2025
1.2k

“It’s good for [foreign] exporters, since the value of their dollar is strong,” he said.

U Ye Min Aung, the newly elected vice president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers and Commerce Industry, told the Irrawaddy that Burma’s business could be facing trade troubles if the government is unable to get a handle on the situation soon.

“This is the time when the government must act decisively, must create a better trade policy—one that actually works,” U Ye Min Aung said. “For example, exporting rice to China is legal in Burma, but in China, it’s illegal to import rice from Burma, so earnings from rice exports don’t come into the local banking industry,” he said, adding that rice is Burma’s major export item.

“Rice exports amount to 1 million tons per year and could yield US$400 million per year, but not all of that money comes here,” he said.

China officially banned rice imports from Burma in 2014, but in lieu of assurances that most rice be milled and meet certain quality standards, the trading rice across the Sino-Burmese border accounts for a majority of Burma’s total rice exports.

U Ye Min Aung also stressed that Burma’s foreign direct investment between April and September has also declined and might be playing a role in the high dollar exchange rate.

“A long-term solution would be to reassess trade policy,” U Ye Min Aung said.

U Khin Maung Nyo, an economist, echoed that the Central Bank must step up and address Burma’s trade woes.

“It seems like the Central Bank isn’t taking any responsibility, but it must,” U Khin Maung Nyo said. “Everything is related. Demand for imported items is increasing, and consumers will be the ones who are harmed by the impact.”

Your Thoughts …
Tags: EconomyTradeUnited States
Kyaw Hsu Mon

Kyaw Hsu Mon

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Drone Attack at Myanmar-China Border Gate Causes Over $14m in Losses
Business

Drone Attack at Myanmar-China Border Gate Causes Over $14m in Losses

by The Irrawaddy
November 27, 2023
38.6k

Jin San Jiao is latest northern Shan State trade hub in crosshairs of ethnic Brotherhood Alliance.

Read moreDetails
General Close to Myanmar Junta Boss Placed Under House Arrest, Interrogated for Corruption
Burma

General Close to Myanmar Junta Boss Placed Under House Arrest, Interrogated for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
September 14, 2023
28.7k

The arrest of ‘kickback king’ Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun, once seen as a possible successor to Min Aung Hlaing, comes...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta’s ‘Brainless’ Response to Soaring Gold Prices Leaves Market in Disarray
Analysis

Myanmar Junta’s ‘Brainless’ Response to Soaring Gold Prices Leaves Market in Disarray

by Hein Htoo Zan
June 4, 2024
14.8k

Arrests, corruption, false receipts—the crisis in the gold and currency markets bears all the hallmarks of the junta’s inability to...

Read moreDetails
Power-Drunk Junta Tries Selling Myanmar Beer at Gunpoint
Business

Power-Drunk Junta Tries Selling Myanmar Beer at Gunpoint

by Hein Htoo Zan
September 14, 2023
13.8k

Consumer boycott enters new phase as generals launch armed counter-offensive at shops and pubs in Yangon.

Read moreDetails
Indian Blockade Isolates Myanmar’s Rakhine, Pressures Arakan Army to Leave Chin State
Burma

Indian Blockade Isolates Myanmar’s Rakhine, Pressures Arakan Army to Leave Chin State

by The Irrawaddy
June 28, 2024
13.3k

An ethnic Chin group on India’s border has cut off the last major supply route to Rakhine and issued an...

Read moreDetails
Touting Holidays in a Flooded Warzone; Praising Savior China; and More
Junta Watch

Touting Holidays in a Flooded Warzone; Praising Savior China; and More

by The Irrawaddy
October 5, 2024
13.3k

Also this week, the regime launched its pre-election census, and unveiled a flood relief budget dwarfed by military spending as...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Dr. Cynthia Maung in 2014. / Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy

Burma Refugee Doctor Wins Humanitarian Prize for Clinic in Thailand

Maj-Gen Soe Naing Oo from the Ministry of Defense at the press conference in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. / Myanmar State Counselor’s Office / Facebook

Arakan Information Committee Formed

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

5 days ago
1.2k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

7 days ago
1.1k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • TNLA Invites Investment in Ruby and Mineral Towns Amid Myanmar Junta Onslaught

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.