India halts exports via Paletwa

By Admin 25 Apr 2024

DMG Newsroom
25 April 2024, Paletwa, Chin State

India has suspended exports from Lawngtlai District in Mizoram State to Chin State’s Paletwa Township for an indefinite period.

The ban was made as of the second week of April in response to the food requirements of refugees who have fled fighting in Myanmar, according to Paletwa residents.

“We heard displaced people from Myanmar that have taken shelter in Mizoram are short of basic foodstuffs, and exports to [Myanmar] were therefore suspended. We also heard that the ban was made for the safety of elections in India,” said a merchant from Paletwa Township.

More than 40 boats full of goods are imported into Paletwa through the Paletwa-Mizoram road and Kaladan River daily from Lawngtlai District, according to Paletwa residents.

Due to a junta blockade, Arakan State has been forced to import basic foodstuffs and consumer goods via Paletwa Township. The flow of goods has been halted since India’s ban, said a merchant from Kyauktaw Township.

“We can’t get new stocks since the closure of the Paletwa-Mizoram border,” he said.

The regime has blockaded roads and waterways to Arakan State since the Arakkha Army (AA) launched an offensive in November, effectively blocking the flow of basic foodstuffs and medicines into the state from other parts of the country.

Residents from Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Pauktaw townships have been forced to rely on commodities imported from India.

The AA is currently negotiating with Indian authorities to resume trade through Paletwa.