"Myanmar is losing the equivalent of $16 million a day in border trade with China because of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official from the commerce ministry has said. Exports to China dropped by $160m between January 27 and February 5 at border trade areas in Shan and Kachin states, commerce secretary Khin Maung Lwin told Myanmar Now. Trade has dried up because buyers inside China are unable to reach the border due to travel restrictions aimed at curbing the virus, said Dr Thet Lwin Oo, Director of the Myanmar International Trade Center. Meanwhile Myanmar traders are having their Chinese visas denied, said Sein Win Hlaing, chairman of the Myanmar Rice Producers Association. Trade at the border is worth over $500 million a month, government figures show. Between October and January, China imported $1.4 billion worth of goods from Myanmar and exported $680 million worth. Khin Maung Lwin said that as there were now no buyers on the Chinese side, the ministry is looking for new export markets..."