The Myanmar manufacturing sector has suffered a recent rapid decline according to the S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Myanmar.

The PMI is based on a answers to survey questions given by a group of about 400 manufacturers operating in Maynmar.

Economist Maryam Baluch from S&P Global said, “The latest PMI data suggests the deteriorating efficiency of Myanmar manufacturing sector.”

The report said that the deterioration was due to a rapid decline in manufacturing, fewer new orders and declining job opportunities.

Maryam Baluch said that manufacturing companies in Myanmar were struggling to meet manufacturing requirements because of scarcity and shortages of raw materials and frequent and long power outages. They are also having to deal with a decline of demand from their customers and fewer orders.

There are also far fewer people now working in manufacturing. Manufacturers laid off staff when their orders dropped and other staff have resigned because they can find better paying jobs in other industries.

According to the PMI respondents manufacturing in Myanmar has become more inefficient and only 3 per cent of the respondents said that they expect the country’s manufacturing sector to expand in the next 12 months.

Maryam Baluch said, “Struggling to overcome a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, inflation and economic sanctions coincided so that I think the prospects of the manufacturing sector will still be in a dark period in the future.”

In the first eight months of this financial year (from April to November 2022) the garment manufacturing industry had export earnings of $3.7 billion USD according to figures released by the Ministry of Economics and Commerce.

Apparently garment manufacturing exports in the last three month period, from September to November 2022, were millions of US dollars less than the same quarter in 202