CNI News
12 Jan 2023
Chairman of State Administration Council Snr Gen Min Aung Hlaing said that the economic growth of Myanmar hit 8 percent in the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
He made the claim when he met with the chairman of the Nay Pyi Taw council and chief ministers of states and regions and chairmen of self-administered zones and regions on 6th January.
He said that the economy fell by 5.9 percent in the 2022-2021 fiscal year under the NLD government but rebounded by 2.4 percent during the first half of the 2021-2022 fiscal year and continued to grow by 3.4 percent during the second half.
As economic growth is calculated based on data from all sectors including big and small businesses, the economy of the country may have gained growth, but difficulties faced by the public due to the economic crisis have not eased, an economist who requested anonymity due to security told the CNI.
Trucks exporting commodities to China.
He said, "The GDP may have risen because they did not announce any economic data. In the past, the Ministry of Planning and Commerce announced the data. Now, they did not announced any data and said the economy was growing. It may be true or not because the DGP is calculated for the entire country. The rich may have been richer. Government revenues may have increased because of commodities like natural gas. The GDP is calculated for the entire country including the private and the public sectors. It is impossible for outsiders to know the details. However, the welfare of the public has deteriorated. The situation of the grassroots has not improved. So, the GDP does not support the general public."
The SAC chairman attributed the economic growth to encouragement given to local businesses and utilization of water resourses, land resources, agriculture, livestock and forestry sectors and human resources.
Calculated based on the trading sectors like oil and gas, rice and fishery products, the economy grew in the fiscal year but there were no growth in the manufacturing sector, economic and banking experts U Thet Zaw said.
Snr Gen Min Aung Hlaing and SAC officials.
He told the CNI, "I am not sure whether they were talking only about trade. Actually, economic growth depends on the manufacturing sector. I think they calculated based on the agriculture and livestock sector which contributed to trade surplus. However, trade did not hit the level during the term of the former president U Thein Sein. Rice exports exceeded the volume of the term of the former president but exports of other commodities did not reached the level of the former president. The main factor may be the revenues from the oil and gas sector. The CMP sector may be contributing to some extent to the economis. I did not see any other sectors that contributed to the economic growth."
Due to the current political instabilities, Myanmar has faced skyrocketing prices of basic commodities and fuel while unemployment rates are rising sharply.
Moreover, prolong blackouts and volatile foreign exchange rates have hampered the operations of small and medium businesses, forcing some of them to suspend their businesses.
The economic growth rate cited by the SAC chairman was calculated based on economic data in 2021, when the economy of the country was badly battered by COVID-19 and political changes. Therefore, entrepreneurs and economic observers pointed out that it is still necessary to make efforts to improve the economic situation to the pre-endemic level.
