Industry is geared largely to the processing of agricultural, mineral, and forest products. More than half of Myanmar industrial production is accounted for by the public sector. Principal industrial products are cement, steel, bricks and tiles, fertilizers, and processed foods. Consumer goods that were imported before 1962 and are now manufactured domestically include blankets, paper, glass products, bicycles, and water pumps. Other major consumer manufactures are aluminum ware, jute and cotton cloth, pharmaceuticals, beverages, matches, and cigarettes. There is also a growing segment engaged in the assembly of television sets and motor vehicles. The main industrial area is Bago (formerly Pegu). Some manufacturing industries are privately owned and operated under government supervision.
Industrial production grew by 9.2% in fiscal year 1995–96, and represented about 11% of the gross domestic product in 1997. In 1998, in spite of the of the Asian financial crisis, industrial production grew 6.1%. Growth increased to 13.8% in 1999, when an estimated 10% of the labor force was employed in the industrial sector. In 2000, it was estimated that industry constituted 17% of GDP. In 1995, production of pig iron totaled 1,500 tons; crude steel, 25,000 tons; and refined tin, 190 tons. The petroleum and petrochemical sector in Myanmar is entirely state-owned (excluding indigenous fuels such as charcoal). In 2002, Myanmar had two state-owned refineries with a total refining capacity of 32,000 barrels a day, about twice the level being produced in 1995. The $1.2 billion natural gas pipeline connecting to Thailand began operations in 1999, and plans for a $1 billion Myanmar-Bangladesh-India gas pipeline were being considered in 2003.
Sincerely,
-chan