A regional perspective on poverty in Myanmar - United Nations ...

Poverty in Myanmar 45
Mon
Land holding
Underemployment
gap
Losses from
calamities
Poverty rate
10
8
6
4
2
0
Poverty decline
Poverty gap
PPI
Loans
Poverty inertia
Utilities share
Food share
Inequality
26 Mon State's radar chart shows a favourable local price index which should, de facto, further reduce
its already slightly better than average poverty gap and poverty rate. As with Kayon and Tanintharyi,
the favourable index might have to do with the State’s proximity to Thailand. Outstanding loans are
below national average, providing Mon’s people with some financial leeway for other consumption
and for investment. But it seems that the people need to invest much labour, many hours, to obtain
this slightly better than average poverty gap: they receive a low return of their labour. This might be
the result of a skills level which is below national average, or market imperfections for example
through monopolistic structures. The above average median land holding and the lower than average
losses from calamities (only 3% of the harvest is lost) indicate some scope for agricultural
development.
Two agricultural products stand out in Mon’s structure: rubber and fishing. The world market for
natural rubber is highly promising, and Mon’s rubber plantations are internationally competitive. But
more care needs to be taken that these rubber plantations’ competitiveness can be sustained and
that their negative spill over effects do not spoil other development prospects of Mon: the vast
expansion of the rubber plantations risk destroying a delicate ecological balance with potentially
serious consequences for Mon’s other industries. The Government needs to look at expansion plans
from a more holistic and long term State <strong>perspective</strong>. It should then foster the development of
natural rubber based industries by, e.g., producing tyres for locally made motor bikes, whose market
will certainly boom in the next years. Alternatively, it could invite rubber based FDIs.
Myanmar as a whole has reached its sustainability limits in catch fish and is, in fact, already beyond
the natural replenishment rate of fish and shrimps. The only way to sustain the industry is to limit the
overall amount that can be caught in agreement with other Divisions bordering the sea. It then needs
to develop aquaculture, and set up value added industries. As has been shown, there is a large
<strong>regional</strong> and world market for frozen fish and fish fillets, which Myanmar so far failed to tab. This
26 This chapter’s recommendations draw on the work of Khin pwint oo