Pharma, Pulses, and Profits: How the Kaladan Corridor Can Power India’s ₹800M Myanmar Trade

India’s eastern front is set for a strategic shift and this time; it’s not just about geopolitical alignment but grassroots economic impact. With the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) nearing completion and the Sittwe Port in Myanmar operational, Indian SMEs now have a rare opportunity to tap into a more efficient, faster and cost-effective trade route to Myanmar and Southeast Asia.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, in his recent address, emphasized that the Kaladan Project and the Sittwe Port would immensely benefit the northeastern state of Tripura, and by extension, India’s broader export ecosystem. For small and mid-sized exporters across India particularly in pharmaceuticals, agri-commodities, machinery and textile sectors this project could be the missing link in expanding cross-border trade volumes and improving logistics competitiveness.

Why Kaladan Isn’t Just Another Port Project

The Kaladan Project is a multi-modal transit system that combines sea, river and road transport, connecting India’s eastern ports to Myanmar’s Sittwe Port and further inland to the town of Paletwa and then by road to Mizoram. Once fully operational by 2027, it will provide an alternative trade corridor that bypasses the congested Siliguri Corridor, opening up India’s Northeast and parts of eastern and central India to faster connectivity with Myanmar, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia.

Under the Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) plan, Tripura will soon be connected to Teknaf Port in Bangladesh, only 60 nautical miles from Sittwe. From Teknaf, goods can be transported to Sabroom, Tripura, which already has an integrated customs border. This route significantly cuts down transport time from the Indian heartland to Myanmar from weeks to potentially a few days.

Sectoral Opportunity: Who Stands to Gain?

India exported over $800 million worth of goods to Myanmar in 2023–24, with pharmaceuticals forming the largest chunk. Indian generic drugs have cornered nearly 60% of Myanmar’s pharmaceutical market, owing to their affordability, availability and quality. For India’s SME-driven pharma industry, the Kaladan corridor could become a lifeline.

Unlike traditional ports that are often clogged or require transshipment via Singapore or Malaysia, direct access via Sittwe Port means lower handling costs, shorter supply chains and faster regulatory clearance cycles. Indian pharma companies can move bulk consignments more efficiently, ensuring better shelf life for temperature-sensitive products and improved delivery timelines.

Besides pharma, other export-oriented SMEs in sectors such as animal-origin products, cereals, animal feed, cotton, vehicles, electrical machinery and light engineering goods stand to gain from easier access to Myanmar’s growing consumer and industrial base.

Conversely, for Indian importers particularly traders of pulses, timber, and agricultural goods Myanmar’s exports offer a complementary trade flow. India imports large volumes of lentils, chickpeas, and beans from Myanmar, crucial for meeting domestic demand, especially during monsoon-supply lulls. With logistics costs falling, import margins could improve, directly benefiting SMEs engaged in food processing, wholesale distribution and local mandis.

Why This Matters for Indian SMEs

SMEs often lose out in global trade not due to product quality but due to high logistics costs, delayed shipments, and limited access to efficient ports. The Kaladan corridor directly addresses these pain points. It connects hinterland exporters in West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Assam and Tripura to Myanmar in a way that removes their dependency on overland movement via the congested Siliguri Corridor or deep-sea routes via Colombo or Singapore.

Moreover, the corridor opens up secondary access to Bangladesh, Bhutan, and even Thailand and Vietnam, through ASEAN connectivity projects already underway. This positions Indian SMEs not just as suppliers to Myanmar, but as participants in a broader Southeast Asian trade grid.

For example, a food exporter in West Bengal shipping puffed rice or packaged snacks to Yangon can now use the Kolkata–Sittwe–Teknaf–Sabroom route and reach local distributors in half the time, with better control over freight and cold chain logistics. Similarly, a Guwahati-based pharma SME could expand distribution to Yangon or Mandalay with fewer intermediaries and fewer customs delays.

Building Resilience Through Regional Integration

What makes the Kaladan corridor particularly relevant in today’s trade climate is the push for resilient and decentralized supply chains. With global shipping still facing disruptions from the Red Sea crisis to container shortages regional corridors like Kaladan offer greater self-reliance for Indian exporters, in line with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The Indian government is also working to expand Inland Waterways infrastructure and operationalise the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR), further strengthening regional integration. These parallel developments enhance the strategic depth of Kaladan, making it not just a Myanmar-facing corridor, but a multi-country gateway.

A Rare Window

For far too long, small and mid-sized Indian exporters have been held back by their geography, forced to rely on long-haul routes, costly middlemen and sluggish border infrastructure. The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Project and Sittwe Port present a rare window of opportunity to reset that equation.

With trade routes becoming more efficient and politically aligned, Indian SMEs especially in pharma, agro-processing, engineering and textiles have a chance to make Myanmar not just a destination market but a springboard into ASEAN. As India looks east, its SMEs must look ahead.