WASHINGTON: Customs teams at Yangon’s ports will now operate 24 hours a day, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry said yesterday, as the industry body works with private sector groups to solve logistics problems that have significantly held up trade. Around-the-clock efforts are necessary to clear the trade backlog, said U Aye Lwin, joint secretary general of the UMFCCI in a statement yesterday. Customs offices previously opened at 9am and closed at 4pm daily.
“Most countries around the world use round-the-clock loading and unloading processing services. Our trading system will be able to develop quickly now that we have introduced this fast-track method too, especially if customs clearance is also streamlined,” he said. “Hopefully, the traffic jams around Yangon’s ports will also ease now that the container trucks will be able to deliver and clear their loads at night.” The number of ships arriving into Yangon Port has doubled over the past 10 years, while the arrival of general goods has more than doubled, and the arrival of containers has risen fourfold, leading to delays in container delivery, port clearance and a shortage of container space.
A more recent spike has seen the number of containers arriving at Yangon’s ports increase by around 36pc since Myanmar’s New Year festival last month, while the number leaving the port has fallen by around 3pc according to the Ministry of Commerce.
A working committee set up earlier this week to look into the problem will report its findings and recommendations to Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein within two weeks. UMFCCI chair U Win Aung earlier this week stressed the importance of freeing up trade. “Congestion and delays in loading and unloading processes at Yangon’s sea ports undermine Myanmar’s economic growth by slowly reducing export and import capability,” he said. “The private sector must contribute to help improve vital areas of overseas trade including custom clearances, transportation and port management.”
To this end, the new working committee, which includes port owners and industry associations, has drawn up a list of tasks. These include compiling a list of containers that have been left unclaimed for over 60 days, devising quick methods to clear and replace empty containers, running 24-hour customs clearance and container loading and unloading operations, and asking shipping companies for detailed reports on their freight logistics activities.
Businesspeople yesterday welcomed the changes with caution. “It will be better than before, but many things still need to be fixed,” said U Soe Tun, vice chair of the Myanmar Rice Federation. Longer customs hours will help trade flows, but delays will continue until a 24 hour deposit counter opens, he said. “We have to pay taxes through banks, but banks do not open 24-hours and they close at the weekend, so we cannot remove our containers,” he said.
Sources in the auto, leasing and logistics industries – which depend on vehicles imported through Yangon Port – have long complained about customs opening hours, onerous administrative procedures and general delays. Too many shipping containers are crammed into the small ports and available cranes and container trucks are limited, U Soe Tun said.
A quick solution could prove elusive. Leasing and logistics industry figures have said a proper fix would require deep-water ports with more container space. There is often a long queue of ships waiting outside Yangon’s ports unable to dock and unload, said one. “This is a logistics problem,” Commerce Minister U Than Myint said earlier this month. “There are too many containers.”
