Dr Raymond Krommenacker

AN international trade expert advised Myanmar last week to use its agricultural resources to promote trade and the overall economy of the country.

“This is an excellent agricultural producing country,” Dr Raymond Krommenacker, regional coordinator of the Asia and Pacific Economies section of the World Trade Organisation, told The Myanmar Times in an interview in Yangon last week.

“[Myanmar] must build food and vegetable processing factories so that the products can be sold to the fantastic market next door, which is China,” he said.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Myanmar to develop its economic sector.”

Mr Krommenacker, a native of Switzerland, was in Myanmar for a weeklong visit ending July 14 to train Myanmar officials on implementing international trade policies and to provide information on the latest developments of Doha round of international trade negotiations sponsored by WTO, in which Myanmar is taking part.

The three-day training, which began July 10 at the new administrative capital Nay Pyi Taw, was attended by more than 50 Myanmar officials from various government ministries, including the Ministry of Commerce.

The training, part of a long-term plan by WTO to provide technical assistance to Myanmar, was the first of its kind conducted by an international expert at Nay Pyi Taw, where the seat of government was moved earlier this year.

Mr Krommenacker said the training was aimed at increasing the expertise of Myanmar officials on international trade policy.

“These agreements [such as Doha] are negotiated among the 149 WTO members, so they can be rather complicate to put in place,” Mr Krommenacker said.

He said the Doha agreement was aimed at promoting fairer trade rules for developing countries, and could be more beneficial for the development of trade in poorer countries than regional free-trade arrangements.

“Poorer countries may suffer from these regional agreements because they do not have the economic strength to get what they want from their trading partners,” he said. “This is not the case with WTO, which is a multilateral organisation in which, on paper at least, all countries have the same status, rights and obligations … and in which all decisions are made by consensus.”

Mr Krommenacker also praised the arrangements that had been made at the new capital for the training.

“The capital is absolutely amazing, in terms of size and the level of construction. Everything is booming in every respect,” he said. “It is emblematic of the desire of the authorities to push things forward and upward.”

Myanmar has been a member of WTO since its establishment in 1995. The organisation is responsible for monitoring national trading policies, handling trade disputes, reducing tariffs and other barriers to international trade, and eliminating discriminatory treatment in international commerce.