The Myanmar Plastic Industries Association (MPIA) is the leading private sector organization of the industry, representing 1,000 units of processed plastic in Myanmar and supporting the growth of the industry. The plastic industry in Myanmar now processes up to

250,000 metric tons per year, and is expected to grow by 15 – 20 percent or more. Moreover, MPIA plans to double its output to 500,000 metric tons per year within five years’ time.
 

Recent news on the plastic industry in Myanmar are as follows:
 

 Daibochi Plastic and Packaging Industry Bhd (Malaysia) signed a Memorandum with Myanmar Smart Packaging Company as a joint venture company to develop the packaging industry in Myanmar. Daibochi also plans to invest an additional 5.5 million USD over the next three years to improve the production capacity and quality of manufacturing facilities in Myanmar. Thomas Lim, Managing Director of Daibochi, cited cheap labour costs and a fast growing economy as the main reasons to enter the Myanmar market.
 

 The demand for plastic products currently exceeds the supply of the Myanmar plastic manufacturing industry. There are now 4,000 Myanmar plastic manufacturers producing plastic and related products, with raw material imported from Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia. U Tun Tin, Chairperson of MPIA, gave an interview to the media, stating that “there may be potential to build factories for specific raw material production in Myanmar. By producing raw material locally, it will reduce costs, such as shipping cost, and minimize risk for global price fluctuation.” Myanmar exports around 3,000 tons of plastic annually, mainly to Japan, Sweden and

other European countries.