A Study on Indo-Myanmar Border Trade

* Thiyam Bharat Singh I Introduction Since the 1970s, the world economy has been characterized by rapid structural changes. Most of the countries, both developed and less developed, have reoriented their development strategies to improve their growth performance and to integrate their economies with the world economy. The use of import substitution policies in many of the developing countries in the 50s, 60s and 70s have not achieved much success while some countries adopting export substitution policies have attained high rates of economic growth. For example, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea experienced high growth rates by adopting export substitution policies. (Will Martin 2003). The dramatic collapse of the socialist economies in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe after about 40 years of central planning and state-ownership has had a profound impact on the participation of developing countries in world trade. There has been an evolution of new thinking among the developing countries towards outward looking trade policies for improving growth performance. As a result, many developing countries adopted more open trade policies since 1980s and started experiencing high economic growth by participating in international trade. This change has made foreign trade and investment an important component in the development programs of many developing countries. Trade and openness remain engines of growth and important instruments of development. It is a fact that countries that have experienced rapid growth and have managed to make significant inroads into alleviating poverty have been those that have integrated with the global economy in a market-consistent manner. (Rajan S 2002). Thus, a wave of open trade policies swept across the developing world and the impact was felt in the northeast region of India too. An agreement on Indo-Myanmar Border Trade was signed in January 1994. The present study attempts to examine the Indias border trade with Myanmar at Moreh in India and Tamu in Myanmar. The data for the present study have been mainly generated from secondary sources. It also includes some primary data collected during field visit at the study sites. The sources of the secondary data include reports published

by Asian Development Bank, Central Government publications, State Government publications, joint report of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Union of the Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), various journals, research papers, articles, books, PhD thesis, various case studies, working papers, etc. The rest of the paper is divided into seven sections. The next section provides the brief profiles of Indian economy and Myanmar economy. It also presents a brief summary of Moreh town in Manipur. Section three presents data on major indicators of border trade. Section four analyses the nature of border trade agreement. Section five examines cross-border trade between India and Myanmar. The last two sections provide the findings and conclusion of the study. II Profile of Myanmar and Indian Economy Myanmar is essentially an agricultural economy with three-fourth of its population engaged in agriculture. The country is endowed with rich mineral resources, viz., precious stone and semi-precious stones. Forest has reportedly covered 51 per cent of the total area and the export potential for teak and wood is large. (Kathing 2006). The economic growth rate of Myanmar was 11.30 per cent in 2001 and it increased to 13.80 per cent in 2003. But the growth rate declined to 12.20 per cent in 2005. (Asian Development Outlook 2006). The high growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was mainly because of improved performances in agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing and trade. About half of total output comes from agriculture, fisheries and forestry. Industry contributes about 15 per cent of GDP and services contribute 35 per cent. There is a marked difference between Myanmar and Indian economy. Indian economy is more diversified in industry, services, science and technology. India has a highly diversified pattern of exports, both manufactured and agricultural, that is competitive with exports from industrial countries. (Islam 2004). The growth rate of India was 5.80 per cent in 2001 and it rose to 8.50 per cent in 2003. But the growth of India declined slightly to 8.10 per cent in 2005. (Asian Development Outlook 2006). According to economic survey of Government of India 2006-07, services contributed as much as 68.6 per cent of the overall growth in GDP in the last five years between 2002-03 and 2006-07. The entire

residual comes from industry. This has resulted into a decline in the share of agriculture in GDP to 18.5 per cent and the share of industry and services improved to 26..4 per cent and 55.1 per cent respectively. The northeast region of India has international boundaries of about 5211 kms along Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Myanmar (Chakraborty 2000). Manipur is one of the states in the region that has international boundaries with Myanmar. Connectivity between the region and Myanmar is growing very fast following the improvement in trading relation between India and Myanmar. Moreh is a border town situated in the Chandel district of Manipur. It is an international trade centre. It is 109 kms away from Imphal which is the capital city of Manipur. According to census of India 2001, the population of Moreh stood at 14, 9621. Moreh is inhabited by different ethnic groups like Tamils, Punjabi, Marwari, Jain, Meeteis, Kukis, Muslim and Mizos, etc. It is reported that about 2000 people visit the town daily for trading, shopping, etc. Tamu in Myanmar is a border town situated on the other side of Moreh. Moreh and Tamu are important trade centres for India and Myanmar. The border area is much close to Golden Triangle (Myanmar-Laos-Thailand) where 20 per cent of worlds Heroin (also known as number four) is reportedly produced. There are large number of illicit drug traffickers, Intravenous Drug Users (IDUs) and sex workers. Because of this situation, people living between the border towns are highly vulnerable to Human Immuno Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). Two other routes between Manipur and Myanmar exist on the eastern border of Ukhrul district. The route connects Kamjong sub-division of Ukhrul district and Somrah area of Myanmar and the other route connects Chingai sub-division of Ukhrul district with Somrah tract of Myanmar. III Major Indicators of Trade Data on value of export and import for Indo-Myanmar border trade at Moreh have been shown in table 1. It can be seen from the table that the annual growth rate of total trade between the two countries has been widely fluctuating since 1996-97. It can be seen from the table that the annual growth rate of total trade markedly varies from 6.26 per
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Government of India (2001).

cent to 196.02 per cent during 1996-97 to 2006-07. It has also been found that there were negative growth rates in five years. The trend in export has shown an irregular trend over the years. For instance, the value of export which was Rs. 10.45 crore in 1995-96 rose to Rs. 31.71 crore in 1996-97. But export declined continuously in the subsequent years till it reached Rs. 2.10 crore in 2005-06. However, export increased markedly to Rs. 62.13 crore in 2006-07.

Table 1: Indo-Myanmar Border Trade (Rs. in crore) Year Export Import 5.39 15.18 35.08 3.74 3.68 0.19 8.30 12.15 8.06 5.01 3.30 1.78 Total Trade 15.84 46.89 57.53 8.80 6.94 5.48 9.55 15.81 16.80 10.65 5.40 63.91 Trade Balance 5.06 16.53 (-) 12.63 1.32 (-) 0.42 5.10 (-) 7.05 (-) 8.49 0.68 0.63 (-) 1.20 60.35 Annual Growth Rate of Trade 65.55 6.26 (-) 36.61 (-) 49.30 91.55 196.02 22.69 (-) 84.70 (-) 21.14 (-) 21.04 74.27

1995-96 10.45 1996-97 31.71 1997-98 22.45 1998-89 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 5.06 3.26 5.29 1.25 3.66 8.74 5.64 2.10

2006-07 62.13

Source: Calculated from the data of Directorate of Commerce & Industries, Government of Manipur (2006).

The export of India to Myanmar through Moreh border mainly consists of agricultural food items like edible buffalo offal, soyabari, skimmed milk powder, soya grid and wheat flour and import from Myanmar consists of agricultural and forest produce like betal nuts, dry ginger, kooth root, serpentine root, timber and numeric finger. Data on mainly traded commodities based on 22 items have been shown in table 2.

Table 2: Prices of Main Commodities Traded (Based on 22 Items) Quantity Per Choi (1 Choi = 1600 Gram) at 1Re = 28 Kyat Items Myanmar Indian (Rupee) (Kyat) 1 Betal Nuts 4480 160 2 Dry Chilly 4500 160 3 Onion 650 23 4 Garlic 1400 50 5 Ginger 500 18 5 Potato 600 21 6 Tomato 250 9 7 Pulses (Arhar) 800 29 8 Pulses (Mutter) 250 9 9 Pulses (Moong) 300 11 10 Corrainder 840 30 11 Resin 1540 55 12 Tumeric 2000 71 Source: Data collected during field visit at Moreh and Tamu, 11-18 May, 2007. Exchange rate between India currency and Myanmar currency against US dollar may be summarized in table 3. It can be seen from the table that exchange rate of India against US dollar ranged between 44.9 rupees to 48.4 rupees during 20012005. But Myanmar has been maintaining almost fixed exchange rate against US dollar during 2001-2004. For instance, the exchange rate of Myanmar against US dollar varies from 5.7 to 6.7 kyat during the mentioned period. The market exchange rate between kyat and rupee at Tamu market is presented in table 4. The first column in the table gives the prices in Myanmar of an inverter made in third

country. In India, the price for the inverter depends on the exchange rate, i.e., the amount of kyat that an Indian may receive for one rupee. This is shown in the column II. Let us assume that the exchange rate is such that one rupee is worth 28 kyat, then the price of the inverter will be 65,800/28, i.e., Rs. 2325.

Table 3: Exchange Rate to US Dollar Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 India 47.7 48.4 45.9 44.9 45.2 Myanmar 6.7 6.6 6.1 5.7 .

Source: Asian Development Outlook, 2006

Table 4: Exchange Rate at Tamu (Myanmar) Price of Price of Price of 1 Inverter 1 Re Inverter in Re. Hanbao (1000 in Kyat [Col. I / Col. II] wt) in Kyat 65800 28.3 2325 65800 28.0 2350 65800 28.1 2342 65800 28.5 2309 65800 28.0 2350 65800 28.5 2309 65800 28.0 2350 Source: Data collected during field visit at Moreh and Tamu, 11-18 May, 2007.

Data on value of seized products by Customs at Moreh border is shown in table 5. It is evident from the table that the value of seizure accounted for Rs. 3.6 crore in 1999-2000 and it rose to Rs. 4.7 crore in 2004-05. The main items of seizure are precious stones, narcotic drugs, battery, inverter, blanket, Myanmar currency, detergent soap, ready garments, shoes, etc. The total value of seizures for the entire northeast region of India was Rs. 11 crore in 1999-20002. It increased to Rs. 6

14 crore in 2000-01 and Rs. 15 crore in 2001-02. The value of seized items further increased from Rs. 16 crore in 2002-03 to Rs. 19 crore in 2003-04.

Table 5:Value of Seized Products by Customs (Rs in crore) Year 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Amount 3.6 4.0 4.0 3.3 3.7 4.7

Source: Directorate of Commerce & Industry, 2006, Government of Manipur.

According to an estimate of informal trade by the report of the Government of India Committee on Informal Cross Border Trade, the value of total unofficial trade was approximately Rs. 8, 365 crore in 2000-01. This excludes under-voicing and informal exports. A study conducted by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), (1995), estimated the annual volume of cross-border trade that took place in the northeast region at three border towns of Moreh (Manipur), Champhai (Mizoram) and Lungwa (Nagaland) at around Rs. 2,200 crore. Of which Moreh contributed the largest share of around Rs. 1,600 crore followed by Champhai around Rs. 500 crore and Lungwa around Rs. 100 crore.

A large scale of trade is done through illegal channels at Moreh and Tamu. This volume of illegal trade might be far higher than the volume of legal trade. However, this also shows that border trade has huge potential for expansion of trade between India and Myanmar. The high value of illegal trade carried on between the borders might be due to long porous borders, restrictions, low transaction cost and low transportation costs.

IV Nature of Trade under the Border Trade Agreement A three-tier system of trade was introduced for cross-border trade at Moreh:

1. Locally produced items that were traditionally exchanged between the indigenous people residing within 40 km on either side of the border would be traded under simplified documents up to a maximum value of US $ 1000.

2. Barter Trade of 22 agreed upon exchangeable items up to a maximum value of US $ 20,000. The items that can be traded under this category are locally produced commodities consisting of agricultural and minor forest products. 3. Normal or Regular Trade3 under the Letter of Credit System as per ExportImport Policy guidelines.

Normal trade or Regular trade refers to trade where transactions are done through banking channels for all freely permissible items of exports and imports and with license for restricted items. It has also been agreed that import of rice from Myanmar is pegged to an annual ceiling of 50, 000 metric tones. The exchangeable items under the barter trade mechanism are subject to any other laws for the time being on force. As regard to procedures of import from Myanmar, Government of India amended from time to time under the provision of Export-Import Policy (EXIM), 1997-2002, which has now been called Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09. The 22 items that have been agreed for cross-border barter trade under the trade agreement are given in table 6.

Table 6: List of 22 Commodities 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Mustard /Rape seed Pulses and Beans Fresh Vegetables Fruits Garlic Onion Chilies Seeds 8. Spices (excluding Nut Meg, Mace, Cloves, Cassia & Cinnamon) 9. Bamboo 21. 22. 20. Food items for local consumption Katha Ginger and any other commodity as may be mutually agreed upon between the two sides. __________________________________________________________________ Source: Director General of Foreign Trade (1995). 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Tomato Reed Broom Sesame Resin Corriander Seeds Soyabean Roasted Sunflower

10. Minor forest products excluding Teak, 11. Betel Nuts and Leaves 12. Tobacco

According to a report of Directorate of Commerce and Industry of the Government of Manipur (2006), trade in the barter/exchange mechanism is restricted to 22 items only and there is shortage of commodities that can be exchanged or bartered. The report suggests that it will be more desirable to include manufactured Indian goods which enjoy a high demand in Myanmar. In another case study by Singh, T.P (2002) on Indo-Myanmar trade shows that the demand for many of the goods included in the exchangeable items particularly on the Indian side is much less than those actually demanded and transacted under informal trade. The findings of the study reveal that adopting barter system as transaction method has its own natural disadvantageous. Since the value of goods

exported under barter trade is limited to US $ 1000 and $ 20,000 per transaction, there is unlikelihood to recognize the gains from Indo-Myanmar border trade particularly on the Indian side. This is particularly true in the context of trade creation effect of custom union theory. The study further pointed out that there was no question of gains from trade diversion in respect of Indo-Myanmar border trade. The limited exchangeable items in the border trade are well recognized by traders. Therefore, traders have demanded for inclusion of more items, especially manufactured goods in the agreed exchangeable list. (Kathing 2005). Another study on Indo-Myanmar border trade by Mero (2005) exhibits that all third country goods and non-specified barter trade items are entering in unspecified quantity from Gate No. 24 without levying any duty. This indicates that certain flaws in the border trade arrangement.

Based on the 22 agreed exchangeable items, the main competing and complimentary products have been identified for the border trade. This is shown on table 7.

Table 7: Selected Products Mainly Trade between the Borders (Included in 22 items) Competing Products Complimentary Products 1. Pulses and beans 1. Soya Bari 2. Fruits (Mango, Apple, 2. Resin Water Melon, etc.) 3. Corrainder Seeds 3. Garlic 4. Soyabean Seeds 4. Onion 5. Chilies 5. Red Broom 6. Katha Sunflowers 6. Betal Nuts and Leaves 7. Food Items for Local Consumption 7. Katha 8. Ginger Source: Data collected during field visit at Moreh and Tamu, 11-18 May, 2007.

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Barter system is normally practised in a primitive economy. The adoption of barter mechanism in the border trade might be due to lack of proper financial institutions between the borders. It might also be adopted for the promotion of prevailing customary practices of the people living along sides the border. By doing so, it can encourage production of locally produced commodities and also prevent goods of third country origin from entering into the border trade. At present, barter trade system is only means through which border trade is carried out because normal trade has not yet started. However, various studies indicate that the border towns of Moreh and Tamu are well monetized. This suggests that there is great potential for expansion of trade between the two countries through adoption of normal trade. V Cross-Border Trade between India and Myanmar Indo-Myanmar border trade is important to Myanmar because it serves as a life-belt to Myanmars sinking economy. (Singh, K.I. 2005). Informal border trade between Myanmar and its neighbouring countries, viz., China, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, have been going on for the past several decades5. The social, cultural, religious and the ethnic similarities among the human groups have encouraged stronger economic ties in the form of border trade. The history is full of such relations, which are still continued despite formation of impermeable boundaries. (Husain 2000). According to a report of Joint Indo-Myanmar Task Force (2006), trade along the Indo-Myanmar border remains relatively low in comparison with Sino-Myanmar and Thai-Myanmar borders. India has been a late entrant but the opening of more border points will gradually increase the volume of border trade. However, lack of infrastructure on both sides of the border remains a limitation. The report further mentions that security is another reason which has been hampering the border trade. According to the report, Tamu in Namphalong market (adjoining area of India at Moreh) is flooded with third country goods such as electronic goods from China, plastic products from Korea, hardware and instruments from Japan, textiles and consumer products from Thailand. Indo-Myanmar border trade through Moreh is marked more by

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overregulation seeing trade only as exchange of commodities instead of seeing it as a means for flow of ideas and opportunity for raising per capita income as well. (Yumnam 2005). Border trade6 is essentially a form of international trade and is associated with inherent complexities. (Bhattacharya 2005).

A case study was done at Moreh in Manipur and Namphalong in Tamu by Singh, N.M and Luwangcha, H.K in 20027. According to findings of the study, the total daily cash outflow to Namphalong was about Rs. 2, 10, 93,000. This excludes buyers from Moreh and surrounding villages, invisible activities and other black transaction. The study also revealed that Moreh market attracted a very less number of customers as compared with Namphalong market. On the other hand, Namphalong market in Myanmar is growing faster as compared to Moreh in India. Cross-border trade between India and Myanmar at Moreh in Manipur has suffered because of various problems associated with social and political issues. Ethnic conflicts8, territorial boundary disputes among states9 and influx of illegal immigrants are some of the major problems facing the region. Frequent blockades are imposed by different social/political/ethnic groups on the highways, especially National Highway 39, which is arguably the only freight route out of the state of Manipur to the rest of India10. Manipur is also facing problems of poor infrastructure, like poor transport and communication system, poor power and water supply system, etc. These problems have imposed severe burden on the traders who have to use the highways and has caused major disruptions to trading activities. According to a report of Directorate of Commerce and Industry, Government of Manipur, (2006), the decline in the border trade is mainly because of disturbing law and order situation, multiple check-posts on the National Highway No. 39, restriction on import of timber, collection of local levies, absence of food testing laboratory and limited list of exchangeable items.

Items worth more than one crore are transacted everyday through Gate No. 2 only11.It was told that some middlemen collect taxes through the gate in the

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presence of both customs and police personnel and the collected amount ranges from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 50, 000 per day. The main items of trade through this gate are cigarettes, mattress, pillows, towels, curtain, table, clothes, blanket, quilt, bed linen, electronic items, toilet items, cosmetics, umbrella, raincoats, dry fruits and food items, home care, candle, incense sticks, plastic products like table, chair, etc., colour spray, nail cutter, knife, scissors, trolleys, television stand, portable wardrobe, decorative items like bouquet, dolls, toys and liquor. Informal trade flows from Myanmar to India through Tamu-Moreh border involve a series of procedures. First, Myanmarese traders will issue a slip of paper to his Indian counterpart. Indian traders will hand over the slip to Myanmar check post officials. Then the Indian traders, it was told, will make a series of payments to various check posts and police stations in Chandel district of Manipur. (e.g., Indian checks post at the border, Custom Preventive Force officials, Moreh Police Stations, re-checked by the Custom Preventive Force officials, Tengnoupal Police Stations and Pallel Check Post)12. The above suggests that there is serious limitation in the existing three-tier trade system.

It is reported that a large quantity of fertilizers (urea) have been exported illegally from Manipur to Myanmar through Moreh13. This has resulted into shortage of fertilizers among the farmers in Manipur. The fertilizers were procured from Brahmaputra Valley Fertilisers Cooperative, Assam. There was an incidence in which a truck load of urea was seized at Indo-Myanmar border carrying 100 bags of urea. Fertiliser is profitable in Moreh market because of significant variation between market price in Imphal and Moreh. For example, while 50 kg bag of urea cost Rs.1, 050 in Moreh market, it costs Rs 550 in Imphal market.

The recent imposition of sanction by the Government of United States (US) on Myanmar and compulsory settlement of normal trade transaction through Asian Clearing Unit (ACU) dollar are now posing serious problem to the progress of the cross border trade. (Bhattacharya 2005). It has been pointed out that there is significant difference between the official administered rate and unofficial market

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rate of kyat against US dollar or India rupee. This has impeded the growth of normal trade including letter of credit (LC) transaction. In a study by Kathing (2005) on Indo-Myanmar border trade shows that traders are reluctant to transact business under regular trade and the letter of credit system because the official exchange rate of currency appears to benefit Indian traders. In such circumstances, barter system continues to a viable solution for carrying out trade between the countries. It may be noted that trade and trade related services have increased manifold not only in border towns of Moreh and Tamu but also in different parts of Manipur. Trade related services include shops trading in variety of products like electronic items, furniture, food items, etc. These products are imported from Myanmar through Moreh. There are more than 1000 shops in various places of Manipur and these shops are selling goods flowing from Myanmar through the border. On the other hand, there are also more than 1000 shops in Namphalong market in Tamu14. These shops sell a variety of products ranging from agricultural goods to industrial goods which are originating from third countries. All these suggest that border trade between India and Myanmar has created a large number employment opportunities among the economically active people living on both sides of the border as well as in different parts of Manipur. To sum up, Indo-Myanmar border trade is vital for people living on both sides of the border. Since the agreed exchangeable items are very limited, legal trade is carried on small scale. The normal trade as a component of the three-tier system of trade has not yet been started. As a result, barter trade mechanism continues to be only means for carrying out border trade. A large scale of border trade is carried out through informal channels. This might be due to restrictions imposed in the trade and long porous borders between the countries. The flooded of third country goods in Tamu and Namphalong market of Myanmar is mainly because of their low prices as compared to goods originated from the states in India. On the other hand, third countries like China, Japan, Thailand, Korea and Singapore might have substantially low cost of production, based on their production on labour intensive as well as application of new technologies.

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VI Findings of the Study The Indo-Myanmar border trade agreement has completed ten years. But the progress of the border trade is quite slow. Inability to activate the normal trade or regular, which is a component of three-tier system of trade through banking process, is one important reason. This has resulted into continuation of barter trade mechanism for means of carrying out border trade. Trade has been affected adversely by various socio-political problems. This is quite evident from the continuous decline in the total value of trade with the exception of a significant rise in 2006-07. The rate of exchange between the currencies of the two countries is a cause for concern for those involved in cross-border trade at Moreh. A huge difference is observed in the official and unofficial exchange rate between the Myanmarese kyat and the Indian rupee at Moreh and Tamu. It is found that lack of infrastructure on both sides of the border remains a limitation. Tamu market in Myanmar is growing faster as compared to Moreh in India. The informal trade between India and Myanmar at Moreh border is essentially a two-way trade flow. While informal trade from India to Myanmar takes place in goods domestically produced in India, informal trade from Myanmar to India through Moreh is done in both domestically produced in Myanmar and goods originated in third countries. A large proportion of goods informally traded from Myanmar to India are procured from other countries like China, Korea, Thailand and Japan. On the other hand, goods traded from India to Myanmar are procured from the states of India like Chennai, Delhi, Kolkatta, Jaipur, etc15. Third country goods are the predominant form of informal trade from Myanmar to India. A large volume of illegal trade is done in the presence of custom officials. This seems to be a part of inherent weaknesses in the three-tier border trade system. It has also been found that the items included in the agreed exchangeable are very limited and these items are agricultural goods and forest produces. As a result, legal trade in terms of barter trade mechanism is done on a very limited scale. Various forms of restrictions in the border trade, law and order situations and multiple check-posts on the national highway are impeding the progress of border trade. It may also be

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worth noting that border trade between India and Myanmar has created a large number of employment opportunities among the economically active people living on both sides of the border as well as in different parts of Manipur. There is a missing link between border trade and production structure (both agriculture and industry) of the northeastern region of India particularly Manipur. The larger gains from trade seem to accrue to traders operating beyond the northeastern region. Therefore, border trade at Moreh-Tamu takes the form of transit trade.

VII Conclusion The three-tier system of trade Border trade can be enhanced significantly by improving the position of infrastructure on both sides of the border. Various studies on Indo-Myanmar border trade show that there is strong demand in Myanmar for Indian products like Bi-cycles and its parts, Life saving drugs, Fertilisers, Insecticides, Cotton fabric including lungis, Stainless steel utensils, Menthol, Agarbati and perfumes, Spices, Chemicals, Cosmetics, Textiles, Motor cycles, etc. This indicates that border trade can be enhanced significantly by inclusion of manufactured goods of Indian origin. By inclusion of manufactured products of Indian origin, it can minimise the volume of illegal and informal trade between the borders. Certain restrictions and difficulties involved in the border trade should be simplified to facilitate the trade. There is an urgent to create a congenial atmosphere to the border area to promote the trade. This can minimise the trade-impeding factors in the border. The process of rail connectivity between India and Myanmar will also help significantly in improving the trade between the two countries. There is a need to have proper financial institutions between the borders to activate the normal trade through banking process. At the same time, there is a strong requirement for bringing the three-tier trade system within a proper regulatory framework.

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References: 1. Asian Development Bank (2006), Asian Development Outlook, Manila, Philippines.

2. Bhattacharya Rahul (2005), Trade Settlement Issues and Introduction of Letter of Credit for Promotion of Indo-Myanmar Border Trade, in Gurudas Das, N. Bijoy Singh and C.J. Thomas (Eds), Arkansha Publishing House, Delhi. pp. 228245.

3. Chakrborty Atri (2000), Prospects of Border Trade in Power in the North Eastern Region, in Gurudas Das and R.K Purkayastha, (Eds.), Border Trade North-East India and Neighbouring Countries, Arkansha Publishing House, Delhi. pp. 143-148.

4. Government

of India (1995), Export and Import Policy, 1992-97, Director

General Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce, Delhi.

5. Government of India (2001), Census of India 2001, Office of the Registrar General of India.

6. Government of India (2004), Report, Office of the Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Northeast Region, Shillong.

7. Government of India (2007), Export Import Data Bank Country-Wise, Director General of Commerce Intelligence & Services, Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Kolkatta.

8. Government of Manipur (2006), A Note on the Occasion of Visit of Sri Jairam Ramesh, Honble Union Minister of State for Commerce to Moreh, 29th September, 2006., Directorate of Commerce and Industry, Imphal.

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9. Husain Zahid (2000), The Nature of Border and Border Trade of Northeast India, in Gurudas Das and R.K Purkayastha, (Eds.), op. cit., pp. 130-142.

10. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), (1995), Study of Promotion of Border Trade between India and Myanmar, New Delhi.

11. Islam Nurul (2004), Indo-Bangladesh Economic Relations: Some Thoughts, Economic and Political Weekly, September 4, pp. 4069-4075.

12. Kathing, J.S.R (2005), Indo-Myanmar Border Trade, in Gurudas Das et al. (Eds). op. cit. pp. 41-63.

13. Kuppuswamy, C.S (2006), Indias Look-East Policy: More Aggressive, Better Dividends, South Asia Analysis Group, Paper No. 1663, March, 2006.

14. Mero M.K (2005), Indo-Myanmar Border Trade in the Light of Indias Look East Policy, in Gurudas Das, et al. (Eds), op. cit. pp. 64-73.

15. Rajan S Ramkishen. (2002), Trade Liberalization and Poverty: Revisiting the Age-Old Debate, Economic and political Weekly, December (7-13) Vol.49. A Sameeksha Trust Publication, p.4945.

16. Report (2006), Prepared by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Union of Myanmar Federation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (UMFCCI). 17. Singh, Konsam Ibo (2005), Indo-Myanmar Border Trade: Imperatives and Present Status, in Gurudas Das, et al. (eds), op. cit. pp. 84-85. 18. Singh, N. Mohendro & Luwangcha, H. Khugendrajit (2002), A Study of Behaviour of Indian Buyers at Moreh/Namphalong (Border Towns), A Case Study submitted to Manipur University (MU), Canchipur.

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19. Singh, T. Priyokumar (2002), Inter State and Regional Trade of Manipur: 1950-2000, Unpublished thesis submitted to Manipur University (MU), Canchipur. 20. Will Martin (2003), Developing Countries Changing Participation in World Trade. The World Bank Research Observer 18 (2): 187-203. 21. Yumnam Amar (2005), Indo-Myanmar Trade through Moreh: Status and Assessment, in Gurudas Das, et al. (Eds). op. cit. pp. 74-83. Dr.Thiyam Bharat Singh, Lecture in Economics, Manipur Univercity. Manipur.

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