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STEP into any shop in Tachilek in Myanmar and Mae Sai across the border in Thailand and it quickly becomes apparent that consumer goods shipped from China down the mighty Mekong River have taken an increasingly important role in the economies of the two towns.

Most residents of the two towns depend directly or indirectly on commercial activity generated by goods shipped from China's Yunnan province, which together with Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam forms the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Even though Thai products are of better quality, cheaper Chinese goods — ranging from electrical appliances and textiles to mushrooms and flowers — dominate the shelves of shops big and small in both towns.

Many traders and consumers say the price advantage of Chinese products ensures that they will continue to attract strong demand, especially among low-income earners.They also readily acknowledge the importance of the Mekong in contributing to the economic growth of the two towns.

"We owe a lot to the Mekong," said Ko Win Naing, 30, who has a consumer goods shop in Mae Sai near the bridge over the Mae Sai River. "The shipment of goods down the Mekong benefits consumers and people like us," said Ko Win Naing, who sells electrical appliances and toys. "Without the Chinese goods the lives of the people on both sides of the border would be a lot harder," he said.

Ko Win Naing moved to Tachilek from his hometown in Ayeyarwaddy Division about 10 years ago. He had no capital when he arrived and initially worked on construction sites in Mae Sai.

Three years later, his earnings increased after he began working as a porter, carrying goods across the border for traders. Within a short time he had amassed enough capital to open his shop. That was seven years ago.

Life is easier now, said Ko Win Naing, who lives in Tachilek and crosses the bridge each day at 6 am to open his shop.

He estimates his investment in the shop at about 70,000 baht (about 1,700 U.S. dollars).

Chinese cargo boats carry goods down the river from Jinghong (in Yunnan province) to the Myanmar port of Wan Pong, where they are transferred to vehicles for the 90-minute journey to Tachilek. The government levies a five percent transit tax on the goods.

The boats also carry cargo, mainly fruit and vegetables, for delivery to Thailand's northern-most port of Chiang Saen.

Customs officials in Mae Sai said the total value of Chinese goods arriving in the town last year via Tachilek was eight million baht (about 195,000 dollars).

The deputy director of the Customs Department in Mae Sai, Petun Thai, said duties ranging from seven to 67 percent were imposed on goods entering Thailand.

Petun said that five years ago, it took about three days for goods to travel the 360-kilometres from Jinghong to Mae Sai. Faster boats and better roads meant that the journey could now be completed in about a day, he said.

Closer cooperation between the Myanmar and Thai governments to counter narcotics trafficking has had an effect on the movement of Chinese goods, said traders in Mae Sai.

A supervisor at a gold shop in Mae Sai said the spending power of customers had decreased by 50 percent during the last six years because of the efforts to combat the drug trade and the customs inspections.

Thai customs officials in Mae Sai said exports to Myanmar in 2002 were valued at about 670 million baht (about 16 million dollars). Fuel exported to Myanmar under government-to-government agreements accounted for 225 million baht (about 5.5 million dollars). Other major Thai exports are cement, machinery, truck tyres, wall tiles, cotton thread and vegetables.

Myanmar government figures for private sector border trade last year through Tachilek-Mae Sai put the value of exports at 1.4 million dollars and imports at 1.27 million dollars. This is considerably lower than the value of border trade through Myawaddy-Mae Sot, the busiest crossing between the two countries.

The Myanmar exports passing through Mae Sai include hand-woven carpets, paintings, and wood and stone artefacts.

Myo Lwin of the 'Myanmar Times' wrote this story under the IPS-Rockefeller 'Our Mekong: A Vision amid Globalisation' Programme.