Myanmar–India Trade: An Empirical Study on Possible Employment Benefits for the State of Mizoram

Abstract

Myanmar and India aim to increase the trade and investment between the two neighbouring countries by way of improved road transportation and banking arrangements. The official trade between India and Myanmar through Mizoram’s Zokhawthar Border Crossing Point (Indian side) is almost negligible. However, it is generally known that consumer goods including electronic gadgets from Myanmar, China, South Korea and Malaysia come to India informally and goods such as such as LPG cylinders, medicines, mosquito repellents, fertilizers and pesticides, motorcycles & bicycle parts, baby food, smartphones and solar power appliances go out of India. Any improvement in trade facilitation is therefore expected to boost the formal trade significantly. Meanwhile, several efforts are being taken including multi-modal transportation to improve the trade efficiency. The current study based on field survey has assessed the benefit of increased trade in Mizoram. The landlocked nature, geographical position and topography of Mizoram State of India can only support the development of MSME clusters rather than any large industries. Opening up international trade routes can thus contribute to the development of the value chain in areas such as horticulture, food processing and lightweight farm equipment. The study has also investigated how far the effort of Mizoram government in developing human capital is in sync with the prospective trade driven growth in the state.

Appendix: Trade Route to Myanmar Through Zokhawthar