U Aung Maung, deputy director general of the department, said officials are discussing the Bhamaw-Lwal Gel road as an alternative to the Muse road, where several armed groups have extorted money from exporters.

Exporters have said that at least eight armed groups on the Muse road have demanded money from cattle exporters.

They said China had offered to purchase 1500 head of cattle a day if they could be sent via the Bhamaw-Lwal Gel route.

“There are illegal exports on the Bhamaw-Lwal Gel route. Making it an official cattle export route would likely curb the smuggling.

The government said that 5833 companies exported 52,233 buffalos and 448,529 cows to China between December 2017 and March 15 2019.

It said that 22,431 buffalos worth US$29.158 million (K44.37 billion), and 195,722 cows worth $234.865 were exported to China in fiscal 2018-19.

The country has 9.62 million cows and 1.86 million buffalos, according to the latest count.

Source: Myanmar Times