Myanmar earned a whopping $2.33 billion from Cut-Make-Pack (CMP) garment exports until the first week of March for the current financial year ending March 31, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The figures of the ministry show that garments collected the second largest export earnings after oil and gas during the 2017-2018 financial year. The garment sector is one of the prioritised industries for the country’s export promotion strategy, according to the officials at the ministry.
This year’s garment export figure boasts a significant rise from over $1.7 billion earned in the previous 2016-17 financial year. The volume itself was an upsurge of more than $1 billion as compared to the year before.
In underdeveloped Myanmar associated with infrastructure deprivation, the vast majority of garment factories operate under the CMP (sometimes called CutMake-Trim) system, practicing over the last 20 years, according to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA).
The CMP procedure is a form of contract work in which, typically, a foreign buyer with the necessary financial and technical abilities would pay contracting fees to a garment factory in Myanmar to carry out the labour-intensive task of cutting the textile fabric, sewing garments together according to design specifications and then packing the garment for export to international markets.
The alternative is the Free-on-Board ( s o m e t i m e s F r e i g h t – o n – B o a r d ) system. Under this approach – in the international garment industry – retailers simply place orders from highly-capable and well-financed factories in overseas markets. The factories are basically responsible for producing the garments in their entirety and arranging for shipment. The retailer makes a purchase and does not need to take a heavy-handed involvement in the production process.
The MGMA expects the garment sector, which is among the major job creating sectors in Myanmar, to achieve the export value of $12 billion and to create 1.5 million jobs by 2020.
