You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

August 25, 2022

Myanmar Indirectly Bans Exports of Value-Added Beans, Corn, and Sesame by Foreign Companies

Subscribe to Updates

On July 27, 2022, Myanmar’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) issued Newsletter No. 8/2022 to effectively ban foreign companies and foreign joint ventures from exporting value-added beans, corn, and sesame.

This newsletter repealed Newsletter No. 2/2020, which had prescribed the criteria for beans, corn, and sesame to be considered “value-added” crops. These criteria had to be fulfilled in order for these commodities to be exported in accordance with Notification No. 24/2019, which had permitted foreign companies and foreign joint ventures to purchase seven categories of commodities from local manufacturers for export, subject to certain terms and conditions. These include:

  • Meat and fish;
  • Value-added crops;
  • Pulp and paper;
  • Seeds;
  • Refined metals;
  • Semi-finished or finished valued-added fruit products; and
  • Timber-based furniture.

With the repeal of the conditions in Newsletter No. 2/2020, foreign exporters are left with no reference criteria for how to achieve “value-added” status for beans, corn, and sesame, and thus will not be able to submit a complete application for the necessary export license. However, exportation of the other items in the list above remains unaffected and open to foreign exporters who meet the applicable requirements.

The MOC explained their decision to revoke the permitted criteria by noting that some foreign companies were not actually producing beans, corn, and sesame that fulfilled the criteria for value-added status as laid out in Newsletter No. 2/2020, but were falsely exporting their goods as “value-added crops.” The revocation of the export criteria for beans, corn, and sesame took immediate effect.

For more details on these export restrictions, or on any aspect of importation and exportation regulations in Myanmar, please contact Tilleke & Gibbins at [email protected].

Related Professionals

Industries

Life Sciences

Practices

Customs and International Trade

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

December 22, 2014
Practical Law Company, in association with Lex Mundi, has published the latest edition of its Q&A guides to doing business worldwide. The Thailand chapter, authored by Tilleke & Gibbins attorneys, presents an overview of the country’s legal system and the key laws applicable to foreign companies doing business in the Kingdom. In particular, the chapter examines the following main subjects:
Read More
August 29, 2014
In response to consumers paying more attention to their dietary nutritional values, the food industry has taken steps to alter its approach to food product labeling. Labels that stipulate nutrient levels in food products (e.g., claiming low fat, high vitamin C, etc.) are now a common sight on food packaging. The Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has, however, set certain criteria that must be met in order to make such nutritional claims and statements.
Read More
August 28, 2014
In Thailand, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) were first implemented in 1979 for local pharmaceutical manufacturers under the Drug Act 1967 (B.E. 2510). In 1984, the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) campaigned seriously for the pharmaceutical industry, and ultimately managed to update pharmaceutical standards, with the first Guidelines to Good Manufacturing Practices being issued in 1987. Also, as a way to standardize pharmaceutical factories, the Thai FDA began to officially grant GMP Certificates in 1989. 
Read More
July 8, 2014
The Thai Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) has recently amended its food product registration and controlling procedures to shorten its approval timelines, without compromising food quality or safety surveillance. This initiative has been dubbed the “Reprocessing Program.”
Read More