In this chapter, the history of Myanmar's external trade is divided into three periods, namely, trade under the Burmese kings, trade after the annexation of Lower Burma by the British, and trade during its colonial period.

Foreign Trade under the Burmese Kings

Trade relations between Myanmar and its neighbours have existed since the earliest days of Myanmar's history. The earliest accounts of trade relations with other Southeast Asian countries, for example, were noted by Barbosa (1866, p. 183, cited in Cheng Siok-Hwa 1968, p. 231). At the beginning of the sixteenth century, rice was shipped from Pegu in Lower Burma to Melaka and Sumatra. U Tun Wai mentioned that Myanmar had trade relations with the European countries as far back as AD 1520 when the Portuguese were allowed to establish factories at Martaban and Syriam (1961, p. 20). However, in the mid-1750s, when Pegu was annexed by the Burmese kingdom in Upper Burma, the Burmese king forbade the export of many products including rice, teak, rubies, and precious metals, the outflow of which was thought to reduce the wealth and importance of the country (Harvey 1925, p. 350). Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the Dutch came to Myanmar for trade and had a factory at Negrais and Bhamo. The English East India Company had a factory in Syriam from 1647 to 1657, but closed it when it was unprofitable, although private traders maintained a connection with Myanmar. In the eighteenth century, both the English and the French were interested in Myanmar's teak for shipbuilding (U Tun Wai 1961, pp. 20–21). According to the same source, between 1587 and 1743 Britain had more sea-borne trade with Myanmar than did either France or Holland. But trade during those periods did not flourish because of war and the anti-mercantilistic outlook of the kings of Burma.

The history of trade relations between Myanmar and its two giant neighbours, India and China, goes back even further.