Myanmar - Myanmar farmers wary of free trade deadline

Six months into the grace period, Myanmar farmers are worrying what will happen when free trade finally comes to all ASEAN members in 2018.

For most of its members, the ASEAN Economic Community came into force on December 31 last year, allowing the free movement of goods and services across the borders of participating countries without tariffs.

Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam were granted an extra three years to put their national economies into order, in recognition of their relatively smaller status. The deadline for all non-tariff barriers to be eliminated within ASEAN is 2018.

Some farmers fear that may not be enough time.

Myanmar still has the right to levy duty and apply import restrictions to agricultural primary products like rice, beans and fisheries products, said U Myint San, director of the Myanmar Research Centre for Economic Development.

But there are already fears of foreign competition when people living in Myeik township, Tanintharyi Region, eat Thai rice – cheaper and better than the home-grown variety.

“We need to learn how to compete with imported agricultural products,” said U Myint San.

“Farmers will face difficulties if they can’t meet the quality and price of imported goods. Higher-quality imports are good news for consumers, but not for local producers. Right now we can tax imports up to 5 percent, but that will fall to zero in 2018. We’ll be in trouble if we can’t compete with Thai and Vietnamese rice.”

Rice Federation deputy director U Soe Htun said the federation was keeping a close eye on the situation, but he did not expect a serious problem to develop because foreign rice was only imported in times of domestic shortage.

“I don’t see a major influx of imported rice at this point,” he said.

The Thai rice that most people in Tanintharyi Region eat is often illegally imported and easily acquired because of the proximity to the border, said one of the resident in Myeik township. Illegally imported Thai clothes and electronic goods are popular for the same reason.

But Myanmar is still able to stop the free flow of agricultural goods, including Thai rice, into other regions, said U Myint San.

Once the AEC arrives that will no longer possible, and the remaining window is tight for Myanmar to be able to compete on quality and price, he said.

Bean farmers have less to worry about. Myanmar is one of the world’s largest exporters of beans and pulses, typically exporting more than 1 million tonnes a year – worth about US$1 billion. About 80 percent of Myanmar’s bean and pulse exports head to India, although Myanmar is also hoping to break into the United States and Middle East markets.

Some types of pulse – like black beans – are very specific to Myanmar, and competitors like Australia, Canada and Senegal are too far away to provide much of a threat in the export market.

“Free trade won’t cause problems for the bean farmers,” said pulse exporter U Min Ko Oo.

Most of Myanmar’s fish exports, meanwhile, go to Nepal, Korea and in particular the Middle East.

Because the quality of Myanmar fish exports are comparable with those of other ASEAN nations, the advent of the AEC is unlikely to cause issues, said U Myat Thu Tun, an executive from GP Trading Company, a manufacturer and exporter of fish products.

But Myanmar’s fishery industry is still in difficulty, mainly because flooding makes fish farming difficult, he said. This in turn has pushed up the local price of raw fish for firms exporting fish products.

“The fishery sector has problems,” U Myat Thu Tun said, “but they aren’t related to the AEC.”

The World Bank’s Economic Monitor report published in May noted that local producers in the food processing industry are also facing growing competition from cheaper imports.

“Their productivity and competitiveness are hampered by weak domestic supply chains and a lack of access to affordable finance,” it said. Much of the inputs for domestically processed foods – flour, preservatives, and packaging material – also have to be imported, according to The World Bank.

Myat Noe Oo

mmtimes

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Indonesia - Children risk health farming tobacco in Indonesia

Children are being put to work on tobacco plantations in Indonesia that supply some of the world's biggest cigarette companies, putting their health at serious risk, Human Rights Watch warned Wednesday.

Despite Indonesian law prohibiting child labour in hazardous industries, the rights group documented dozens of cases of minors -- some as young as eight -- falling ill from handling raw tobacco and mixing pesticides with their bare hands.

Much of the tobacco harvested from the roughly 500,000 plantations across Indonesia is for the domestic market, where smoking rates are among the world's highest.

But one quarter of all Indonesian tobacco is exported and sold overseas by multinational cigarette giants, Human Rights Watch child advocacy director Jo Becker told AFP.

"A smoker who is lighting up a Dunhill or a Lucky Strike or some other cigarette in Europe or the United States could well be smoking a cigarette that was made by child labour in Indonesia," Becker said.

Many young labourers described feeling dizzy, nauseous and vomiting after long days working in the fields, symptoms associated with "green tobacco sickness", a type of nicotine poisoning, according to HRW's new report.

Nicotine contained in tobacco plants is readily absorbed through the skin when handled, and is particularly harmful for children, Becker said.

"I vomited in the fields and my dad told me to go home and rest. I was sick for two days," a 12-year-old girl from East Java, on the main island of Java, told the rights watchdog, who withheld her identity.

- Enforcement difficult -

The government is being urged to prohibit children under 18 from working with tobacco. The standard minimum working age is 15, but Indonesia's Child Protection Commission concedes enforcing the law is difficult.

"Unfortunately these rules are not properly implemented in the fields," Erlinda, a senior official at the commission, told AFP. Many Indonesians go by just one name.

None of the major companies purchasing tobacco in Indonesia had policies "sufficient to ensure that children are protected", Human Rights Watch wrote in its report.

Tobacco is purchased either directly from suppliers or via the open market, which is far more opaque and makes tracing origin difficult.

Philip Morris International -- which owns Indonesian cigarette giant Sampoerna -- has shifted towards sourcing the majority of its tobacco directly in recent years, allowing it to tackle child labour at the farm level but not rule it out entirely.

"If we don't know exactly who is producing that tobacco, what are the conditions, then we cannot provide that assurance," the company's international sustainability officer Miguel Coleta told AFP.

British American Tobacco, which owns Indonesian subsidiary Bentoel as well as the Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarette brands, said it did not employ children in any operations worldwide and warned its suppliers against doing so.

Three of Indonesia's largest tobacco companies -- Djarum, Gudang Garam and Wismilak -- did not reply to repeated requests for comment.

AFP

dailymail

You can find older posts regarding ASEAN politics and economics news at SBC blog, and older posts regarding health and healthcare at IIMS blog. I thank you.

Myanmar - Govt takes aim at betel chewing

It looks like Myanmar may be going cold turkey on its betel nut habit.

Chewing betel remains popular across the country, with the stimulant regarded by some as a national pastime.

Habitually gnawing at the combination of tobacco and areca nut – both known carcinogens – has destructive health effects. About one-fifth of all cancers in Myanmar are mouth-related.

Betel is now firmly in the crosshairs of the new National League for Democracy-led government.

Last month, the Union government instructed ministries, along with state and region governments, to develop and implement a plan for reducing the use of betel across the country.

The order also instructed all government employees not to chew betel during office hours, and not to allow any betel vendors within government facilities. The move was followed by an announcement in state media on June 5 that the Ministry of Health and Sport is in the process of a campaign to remove betel stands from “public places” and “places of tourist attraction” in urban centres.

There is also reportedly a public education campaign in the works, but repeated attempts to contact the Ministry of Health for clarity about the project went unanswered and unreturned yesterday.

Large segments of the population will likely be affected by the new ban.

A recent Ministry of Health and World Health Organization survey showed that 62 percent of men and 24pc of women in Myanmar use smokeless tobacco products such as betel. This is one of the largest rates of consumption across Southeast Asia.

Myanmar’s addiction rates were also sky high – 44pc of men and 16pc of women use these substances on a daily basis.

A 2014 study conducted in Yangon found that 5pc of the population was so addicted that they lived with harsh oral lesions caused by the substances.

For local and international health experts, the latest curbs are welcome.

A spokesperson for World Health Organization in Myanmar was blunt. He said betel consumption was “a serious public health threat in the country” which is leading to “dramatic increases in the likelihood of developing serious diseases of the gums, teeth, tongue, mouth and throat”.

The spokesperson also said the product is a contributing risk factor for the development of other non-communicable diseases such as heart conditions, diabetes and hypertension.

U Than Sein of national advocacy group the People’s Health Foundation was particularly concerned about the rising trend of usage among the younger generation.

“Children start their habit of betel chewing as young as 10 or 12 years old,” U Than Sein told The Myanmar Times. He also cited a Global Youth Tobacco Survey which showed that smokeless tobacco users among youths age 10 to 15 years in Myanmar tripled from 2001 to 2011.

“We are seeing increasing morbidity and mortality associated with tobacco-related cancer and other diseases like cardiovascular problems, respiratory diseases, and liver, kidney and pancreatic diseases,” he said.

How soon the massive industry can be cut back or even eliminated remains unclear however. The Myanmar Times saw several sellers continue to operate yesterday across Yangon.

The fate of the sellers themselves is also unknown. State media reported that initiatives will include “arrangements to substitute the business of betel nut selling with other vocations”.

Nick Baker

mmtimes

Myanmar - Betel farmers fear impact of health campaign

Betel farmers are deeply worried that the government’s ban on the sale of betel quids in public places will threaten their jobs and their traditions.

A decision last month to ban sales of betel near hospitals, schools, government offices and tourist attractions – effectively separating the country’s thousands of betel sellers from many of their customers – could destroy their livelihood, they say.

The ban is just the first step in a Ministry of Health and Sports campaign to reduce the use of betel, which raises the risk of oral cancer.

Farmer U Aye Oo, who lives in Hinthada township, Ayeyarwady Region, said he was at his wit’s end following the news. “For them it is just about releasing a statement, but for us it is a question of the survival of our family. What are we supposed to do now? Betel is all I grow,” he said.

“We’ve been farming betel since my grandparents’ time. And people have been chewing it since the days of the kings. The government can take action against people who spit on the ground, but closing down shops is no solution. This is our livelihood, and the livelihood of lots of farmers in Hinthada and Pantanaw townships,” he said.

Nyaungdon township betel farmer U Thein Naing said there are betel shops in every street in every township in the country. The impact of the new policy would be “huge”, and the government should have consulted widely before introducing it, he said.

Others believe the new edict will be ignored, and the government will be forced to listen to the people. “They will come up with a better solution,” said Yankin township taxi driver U Maung Maung.

“This is not a small matter. Myanmar people are used to chewing betel. It’s a big business,” he said, conceding that people guilty of “undisciplined expectoration” should be sanctioned.

Yangon is home to thousands of betel stalls, said one owner, Ko Myat Thu. “What will the government do if they all go bust?” he said. “Whole families depend on this industry. And what about the customers?”

Betel quid sold locally is a mixture of betel and ingredients such as lime and tobacco. Imported finished products from India are also common. Vendors say they are not worried about the future of the betel business, claiming interest in their products is stronger than ever.

Betel shops are a common sight in every village and city across the country. Most retailers are small-scale shops that only sell betel, though sometimes they also sell other products like cigarettes and snacks.

Betel quid sellers and betel leaf wholesale dealers said they have not received word from the government, but that if the announcement is made law they will obey it.

“We will obey the law, but it will not happen easily because half of the population eats betel quid. It will take time. If we go out of business, we will find new work,” said Ko Than Aung, a wholesale dealer at Thiri Mingalar Market.

Myat Noe Oo

mmtimes

Lao - Lao Farmers Still Use Dangerous Herbicide Despite Ban

Farmers in the northern Lao province of Xiangkhouang are using so much of the herbicide paraquat on their crops that questions have been raised about the impact of the chemical on the environment and the government’s ability to control its use, RFA’s Lao service has learned.

Despite a two-year-old ban on the chemical in Xiangkhouang, farmers can easily buy paraquat, and are using about 25 times the amount recommended by the manufacturer, according to an official with a civil society organization.

“The amount of herbicide use is high, 80 liters per hectare, which is overuse,” said the civil society official who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The standard use is only three liters per hectare,”

A Lao agriculture official told RFA that authorities are aware of the problem, but are struggling to bring it under control. The official told RFA that the abuse of paraquat is depleting nutrients in the soil, but that it is up to local authorities to curb its use.

“Provincial authorities have banned this substance for two years,” an agriculture official in Nong-het district told RFA. “The agriculture sectors are in charge of controlling it, but it is still smuggled in for sale in the province.”

When contacted by RFA, Khamphou Chanthavong, director general of Xiangkhouang province’s natural resources and environment department, refused to comment on the issue.

While the herbicide is banned in Xiangkhouang, farmers there have become so accustomed to using it that they cannot kick the paraquat habit, sources tell RFA.

“It is difficult for farmers to stop using paraquat for their maize plantations because they have gotten used to it,” the civil society official told RFA.

Farmers in Xiangkhouang’s Nong Het district have been using paraquat since 2008, when they were trained on intensive agricultural production, a Lao agriculture official told RFA.

Paraquat is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, and while its toxicity is low when sprayed in recommended doses, it poses serious health issues to anyone who handles the chemical.

A small, undiluted dose can kill a human, and paraquat is blamed for a large number of pesticide-related deaths. It is a major suicide agent in many developing countries, and in 2011, the U.S. National Institutes of Health found a link between paraquat use and Parkinson's disease in farm workers.

While paraquat has dangerous side effects, it also has benefits. When used properly it kills weeds without the need to plow them under and it is less reactive in the environment than other herbicides.

Xiangkhouang officials decided the dangers outweighed the benefits and banned the chemical, but they admitted they were unable to control its use.

“Authorities banned the use, but farmers cannot stop using it because they have gotten used to it for many years,” said the Lao agriculture official.

Reported by RFA's Lao Service. Translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.

rfa