Myanmar Export Data: $14.75B in 2023, Down 13.65%

Piped Gas Ties Myanmar's Top Export to Its Top Two Buyers

Myanmar exported $14.75 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 13.65% from $17.08 billion in 2022. Mineral fuels led every category at 24.22% of the total, worth $3.57 billion. That is more than any other single classification, and by a wide margin. Myanmar has piped natural gas to Thailand since 2000 from the offshore Yadana, Yetagun and Zawtika fields, while a separate pipeline has carried gas from the Shwe field to China since 2013. Those two fixed pipelines account for the bulk of the country's gas output. That same infrastructure is also why Thailand and China dominate Myanmar's list of export markets rather than any more distant buyer.

Thailand bought 24.27% of Myanmar's exports in 2023, worth $3.58 billion, narrowly ahead of China at 23.24% ($3.43 billion). Those two countries alone take in nearly half of everything Myanmar sells abroad. That concentration is driven largely by pipeline infrastructure, which cannot easily be redirected toward a different buyer on short notice the way a shipment on a cargo vessel could be. Japan followed at a distant third with 8.13% ($1.20 billion), still well ahead of every other buyer on the list, reflecting long-standing Japanese investment in Myanmar's energy and manufacturing sectors.

Garment Exports Keep Shipping Through Years of Sanctions

Apparel exports told a more complicated story than gas. Non-knitted clothing and accessories supplied 19.73% of exports ($2.91 billion), the second-largest single category. Knitted and crocheted apparel added another 10.01% ($1.48 billion). Combined, Myanmar's garment sector accounted for close to three in ten export dollars in 2023. That sector has kept shipping despite years of political upheaval, factory disruptions and international pressure on Western brands to reconsider sourcing from the country. Myanmar returned to a trade deficit in the months following the 2021 coup as exporters faced waning external demand, overvalued official exchange rates, and higher costs for imported production inputs. Those pressures have weighed on the country's export totals ever since, even as garment factories themselves have largely kept running.

The United States still bought 3.98% of Myanmar's exports in 2023, worth $588 million, despite sanctions imposed after the coup. Those sanctions have targeted specific individuals, entities and categories like jet fuel rather than imposing a blanket ban on trade, and apparel remains a dominant component of the bilateral trade that continues. That targeted approach is why garment shipments to American buyers have persisted even as US policy toward Myanmar's military government has hardened. Germany, Poland and Spain, all significant apparel-sourcing markets for European retailers, rounded out the list at 3.52% ($519 million), 3.17% ($468 million) and 2.99% ($441 million).

The overall export trend reflects that same instability. The total declined from $18.12 billion in 2019 to $16.95 billion in 2020, then fell further to $15.15 billion in 2021, the year of the coup. It partially recovered to $17.08 billion in 2022 before falling again to $14.75 billion in 2023, a total still well below where it stood five years earlier.

Pulses Flow to India While an Unusually Large Ships Category Stands Out

Vegetables, mostly dried pulses like black gram and pigeon peas, supplied 10.70% of exports ($1.58 billion). That makes vegetables Myanmar's third-largest category, ahead of cereals and every other agricultural product. Under a bilateral agreement, India imports up to 250,000 tonnes of black gram and 100,000 tonnes of pigeon peas from Myanmar every year, making India the dominant buyer for these two staple pulses. India ranked fifth among Myanmar's export partners overall at 5.69% ($839 million), a relationship built substantially on this pulse trade.

Cereals added 8.12% ($1.20 billion), and fish, crustaceans and other seafood contributed 4.46% ($659 million). Ships, boats and floating structures supplied an unusually large 3.11% ($459 million). That is a bigger share than footwear, fruit or rubber, and a surprising figure for a country without a major shipbuilding industry. The fact sheet does not break out what specific vessels or structures drive that figure. Footwear added 2.58% ($381 million). Fruit and nuts contributed 1.75% ($258 million), and rubber closed out the top ten at 1.59% ($235 million). South Korea and the United Kingdom rounded out the partner list at 2.74% ($404 million) and 2.35% ($346 million). Myanmar's top three buyers, Thailand, China and Japan, together made up 55.64% of total export value. That level of concentration underscores how much the country's export base now depends on a handful of Asian markets.