CNI News

5 January 2024

The economic growth of a country can assessed by looking the development of its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and at present, MSMEs within Myanmar have needed market and technology support, businessmen told CNI News.

Although successive governments helped MSMEs by issuing loans, the development of MSMEs is still low. 

Without receiving market and technology support, getting loans alone would not be convenient for MSME businessmen, U Thet Zaw, an economic commentator told CNI News.

" Frankly speaking, SMEs need market and technology support. Market and raw materials must be supported and it's necessary to better the production processes so that SMEs can improve. Lending money alone alone won't produce any good result. In due course, a lot of debts will be left with borrowers." he said.

MSMEs are important to economically underdeveloped countries like Myanmar. However, most of MSMEs do not have market at present. So, their productivities have been reduced and some MSMEs have stopped.

While seeing the glazed earthen jar industry

Such a reduction in growth is directly related to the country's economic decline. 99 percent of businesses in Myanmar are MSMEs and their growth and decline will be directly related to the country's economy.

Although loans are being lent to MSMEs, some enterprises have not got the loans. As a consequence of the current lack of territorial stability, due to the difficulty of transportation, the rate of production and the rate of consumption were not equal, an official from Kyi Pyar egg poultry farming business in Mandalay Region told CNI News.

" Some businessmen don't get the loans. Loans are not issued to some micro and small enterprises. Mainly, there are no markets. There are still production places. But to send the products to places where there are consumers, routes are being closed. Next, people don't have enough money to buy and eat. So, consumption is decreasing. Moreover, because the transportation is difficult between the production places and consumer places, products are piling at the production places. So, the prices have gone up at the places where there are no products. As the production places are stable, production can be regularly conducted." he said.

Moreover, there are difficulties to get import licenses for some MSMEs to get raw materials from abroad.

Successive governments were not able to make MSMEs successful. Myanmar has no ability to compete with regional countries in MSMEs. In fact, MSMEs in Myanmar are finding it difficult to exist anymore.

The long-term sustainability of MSMEs should be taken into account in order to revive the country's economy, pointed out businessmen.