Trade Decline in Three Pagoda Pass in Rainy Season
Independent Mon News Agency
September 3, 2004
In Three
Pagoda Pass
border town, trading between Thailand
and Burma
decreased down in comparison with the previous years and many traders shifted
their trading to Myawaddy-Maesot border point,
according to the traders.
According to a general groceries trader, Mr.
U Moe Kha, he said there is no
profit to import Thai goods due to expensive transporting costs and taxes
levied by the Burmese Army and many other ethnic armed groups.
“A lot of Thai goods from Myawaddy
flooded in our area, Mon
State.
We cannot sell the goods as the same price as a Myawaddy trader do sell to customers. For a good from which we should get net
profit 10 Kyat, now we only get 1 Kyat because of we paid to 17 checkpoints
along the water way (Zami river) from Three
Pagoda Pass to Kya-inn-seikkyi Town (it is a town
in Karen State). At least we had to
pay 300,000 Kyat to these checkpoints in each trip,” said Mr.
Kha.
“In addition, we cannot compete against Myawaddy
traders, their goods are safer than ours as we have to
use Zami
River
to reach our destination in Burma. They can reach the towns in Mon
State
on time while we couldn’t. They have to pay less taxes
to checkpoints and the number of checkpoints are less than ours. That’s why
they can sell their good cheaper,” he explained.
“Now many of Three
Pagoda Pass
traders halted their trading and shifted to Myawaddy,”
he added.
According a Mon trader Mr.
Nai Shar who involve in trading
in Myawaddy border town, confirmed that many of
traders who he is familiar with him migrated to Myawaddy
from Three Pagoda Pass.
“Some new traders who arrived here confirmed that they would
involve in trading. Sometimes these
traders came and met me for the discussion and advice for trading,” Mr.
Shar who has
trading experience in both Myawaddy and Three Pagoda
Pass said.
“Myawaddy motor road is better
than Three
Pagoda Pass
waterway in transportation.
Transportation of goods along Zami river from Three
Pagoda Pass
town during rainy season is worst. The traders could not reach to Moulmein,
the capital of Mon
State,
within one-day. But it is only four hours dirve to
reach Moulmein
from Myawaddy,” he explained.
According to a ferryboat owner Mr. U Win Zaw,
he confirmed that the ferryboat transportation in Zami
River
receive less income in this rainy season in comparison with the previous years.
“Because only three or four traders hired the ferryboat in a
week, ferryboat owners lose their job and about 20 ferryboat
left in Chaung-zone Ferry Association to transport
goods and passengers between Three
Pagoda Pass
and Kya-Inn-Seikyi,” said Mr.
Zaw.
“A very few number of traders are remaining. Most of them are not importing Thai goods to
Burma,
but they export groceries from Burma
to Three
Pagoda Pass
town,” Mr. Zaw
exposed.
“No profit if we import Thai goods. At the moment we trade
some rice, clothes and others groceries to Three Pagoda Pass. It is a very small profit,” Mr.
Kha said.
According to “Win Mar” Service, the biggest currency
exchanging service in Three
Pagoda Pass
Town,
it confirmed a very less number of traders involved in trading in this rainy
season. Although money exchange rate
has been better from traders from Burma,
it is still less traders, said the owner of Win Mar Service.
According to businessmen, business in Three
Pagoda Pass
is reduced down due to many reasons: such as less profit and less travelers
after setting high traveling cost. The Town authorities and the local military
battalion also closed down many furniture factories recently to force the
factory owners to do logging concession and factory registration. The
restriction against the furniture making factories created negative impact to
town residents because it was the main income source for the border town.
For further information, please contact to Independent Mon
News Agency
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