[VI] Border checkpoint delays and their effect on cross-border trade costs in Myanmar

[VI] Background

[VI] Land border checkpoints remain a significant source of delay for cross-border trade in Myanmar, yet quantitative evidence on the actual cost impact of these delays on traders has been limited.

[VI] This research aims to quantify the relationship between checkpoint processing time and total trade cost, using tracked shipment data from several major crossings.

[VI] Methods

[VI] The study tracked a sample of shipments through several border checkpoints, recording processing time and associated costs such as storage fees and driver waiting charges incurred during delays.

[VI] Regression analysis was used to estimate the relationship between checkpoint processing time and total logistics cost per shipment, controlling for shipment type and distance travelled.

[VI] Key findings

[VI] Each additional hour of checkpoint processing time was associated with a measurable increase in total logistics cost per shipment, driven primarily by storage fees and driver waiting charges.

[VI] Cost impacts were disproportionately larger for perishable goods shipments, where delay-related spoilage compounded direct waiting costs.

[VI] Policy recommendations

[VI] The study recommends prioritising processing time improvements at checkpoints handling higher volumes of perishable goods, given the outsized cost impact of delay for these shipments.

[VI] It also recommends that trade facilitation investments be evaluated using shipment-level cost data of the kind used in this study, rather than checkpoint throughput alone.