Tissue and Hygiene in Myanmar

Myanmar’s tissue and hygiene industry continues to develop as consumers become more familiar with these products and more willing and able to spend money on them. In addition, urbanisation and the acceleration of the pace of life mean that demand for convenience is rising, supporting positive growth across retail tissue and hygiene.

Market Insight: COVID-19 Impact

Retail sales of tissue and hygiene products are expected to have experienced little diminishment in sales, if any, over the course of 2020 as a result of COVID-19. Although many consumers in the country remain highly price-sensitive, demand for most retail tissue and hygiene products is centred mainly on affluent middle-income urban-dwellers, and this consumer group was not particularly heavily impacted by the onset of COVID-19.

Country Insight: COVID-19 Impact

As of 12 May 2020, Myanmar had seen six deaths due to COVID-19 and 180 cases. Myanmar reported its first case of a person testing positive for COVID-19 on 23 March, and, as of early May, its borders have been closed since then.

Country Insight: Pre-COVID-19

According to a recent report published by Myanmar’s Central Statistical Office in 2019, the share of Myanmar’s population living in poverty was halved between 2005 and 2017. As poverty levels decrease, it is expected that more households will want to improve their living standards by adopting the use of various household products, including tissue and hygiene.

Socioeconomic Trends

Myanmar requires massive investment in sanitation and hygiene facilities to meet its targets in this area under the global Sustainable Development Goals (2030). Rural areas lag behind urban areas in terms of the development of sanitation and hygiene, although even the country’s major cities are struggling to meet the need for sanitation amidst intense urbanisation.

Logistics/Infrastructure

The consumer base for most tissue and hygiene products tends to comprise mainly middle-and high-income urban dwellers, with this situation reflected in the strength of modern grocery retailers, particularly hypermarkets, in terms of distribution. Among less affluent consumers, informal channels and traditional small grocers are the most popular sources of tissue and hygiene products.

Files are delivered directly into your account within a few minutes of purchase.