SMART Myanmar was pleased to organize the first ever "Myanmar Buyers' Forum" in cooperation with the Business Innovation Facility (BIF) on May 24th and 25th. 16 international brands and retailers joined in the discussions, which focused on skills development and HR management, environmental management and business conditions and trade.

SMART Myanmar's implementing partners the Foreign Trade Association of German Retailers (AVE) and the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association managed SMART Myanmar's involvement in this activity.

Day one of the conference involved a smaller meeting of 30 regional representatives from 16 international brands and retailers sourcing in Myanmar, such as H&M, Adidas, Lidl, Gap, Lindex, C&A, Primark, Bestseller, Inditex and others. Facilited by SMART Myanmar Team Leader Jacob Clere and Tom Harrison, Director of BIF, this meeting gave buyers a chance to discuss common questions, especially related to labour law reform, industrial relations and workplace safety, environmental regulations, trade agreements, and other matters. Jacob Clere and Sebastien Moineau from BIF presented on the garment industry's growth and development. Natsu Nogami from the ILO presented on the Myanmar government's labour law reform process. Vicky Bowman, Director of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business presented on the country's overall political and economic landscape. Tobias Fischer and Felix Ockborn from H&M as well as Sebastian Taylor from Solidaridad and Yun Gao from the Ethical Trading Invitiative also provided remarks on the factories landscape and Myanmar business environment throughout the day.

Day two was facilitated by Andrea Breyer, Head of Trade Policy and Sustainability at AVE and Tom Harrison of BIF. Whereas the first day involved a smaller and more intimate discussion, the second day involved over 50 managers from 28 garment factories, as well as representatives from civil society and business associations, government officials and service providers working with the industry. The conference opened with welcome remarks from the Ambassador of the European Union to Myanmar, his excellency Mr. Kristian Schmidt and keynote remarks by Deputy Minister of Commerce, his excellency U Aung Htoo. The Chairman of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, U Myint Soe, gave a presentation on the current industry situation, with updates on trade and industrial zone developments. During the course of the day panel discussions were held on HR management & skills development, environmental management and business & trade. Panelists joined from factories, brands, civil society and business associations.

Among 15 buyers to complete feedback forms at the event, indications from them were that...

• 12 buyers had increased sourcing volumes from Myanmar during the previous three year period. Two buyers had kept sourcing volumes about the same and only one buyer indicated they had decreased sourcing volumes.
• 11 buyers indicated they felt the business environment in Myanmar had improved during the previous 3 years; 3 buyers felt it had neither improved or worsened and one buyer felt the business environment had worsened.
• The most commonly mentioned challenges buyers face in Myanmar are: low productivity, industrial relations and inconsistent application of the labour laws by the Myanmar government.
• Four buyers indicated they would continue increasing sourcing volumes in the near future. Eight buyers indicated they would neither increase or decrease sourcing volumes (often mentioning the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State as a factor for not increasing business). No one mentioned they would decrease sourcing volumes, but 3 companies chose not to answer this question.
• In terms of the Myanmar Buyers Forum conference, 14 out of 15 buyers felt the conference was either useful or very useful for them. 

Given the success of this public-private dialogue event, SMART Myanmar plans to continue with a 2nd Myanmar Buyers' Forum in May, 2019. The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is also in discussions with SMART Myanmar to organize a smaller updates meeting for brands and retailers in Hong Kong during December, 2018. Contact: [email protected] if you are a brand or retailer interested in participating in either of these events.