last year, we were one of two myanmar companies chosen to ... · nonetheless, the climate does have...

30 | Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight30 | Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight

The company has also sought to introduce its wines to foreign markets. “Last year, we were one of two Myanmar companies chosen to participate in an ASEAN exhibition in South Korea and I think we’ve got a good chance of being selected this year to go to Japan,” Mr Raynal says.

The difficulties of making wine in the tropics appear to be a thing of the past, with wineries now relatively widespread in Thailand and India. There’s even a rival establishment, Aythaya Wines, not far up the road from Nyaungshwe to Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, that professes to be Myanmar’s first international-standard winery.

Nonetheless, the climate does have a significant impact on the production cycle, Mr Raynal says. “There’s no real winter, so no dormancy period, and there’s two grape cycles a year. We only keep the grapes grown during the dry season, which are harvested in February,” he says.

The grapes that grow in rainy season don’t receive enough sunlight and are thrown away. “We tried to make wine with them one year as a test, but it wasn’t good enough, and we found it reduced the quality of the next batch.”

With almost 75 hectares

in total and state-of-the-art winemaking facilities, there appears to be just one thing holding Red Mountain back: an almost non-existent local market.

The cavernous winery is lined with steel tanks, but not all are full. Some contain wine from 2010, while others hold wine from 2009 that is just waiting to be bottled.

The problem, Mr Raynal says, is one of economics. “This is a very big investment. We’ve got equipment imported from Italy, and the vines have come from France and Spain. But the market in Myanmar is still quite small. Wine is relatively expensive; most people here can’t afford it.”

Nevertheless, Mr Raynal says production is expected to expand in 2011 from 70,000 bottles last year, with higher yield from the maturing red vines at the Myay Phyu site. Partly, the winery is encouraged by the improving state of Myanmar’s tourism industry. After a series of setbacks in 2007 and 2008, arrival figures have bounced back considerably and the country welcomed more than 200,000 tourists in 2009. Inle Lake, along with Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan, is considered one of the country’s “big four” attractions, and perhaps the most reliant on international travellers. After taking a boat on the lake, those not interested in trekking to nearby ethnic villages are often left with little to do, and the winery is open daily to curious travellers.

“ Last year, we were one of two Myanmar companies chosen to participate in an ASEAN exhibition in South Korea and I think we’ve got a good chance of being selected this year to go to Japan.

31Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight | 31Air Mandalay - The Golden Flight |

“The past few years there have been very few tourists but the situation started to improve last year,” Mr Raynal says. “It’s a really strong market for us because Western travellers in particular want to try local wine at least once while they are here. They usually choose us over a wine from Bordeaux or Australia because they can drink those any time at home.”

Western travellers in particular want to try local wine at least once while they are here. They usually choose us over a wine from Bordeaux or Australia because they can drink those any time at home.

“

Ultimately though, Mr Raynal says, the winery’s future lies with local consumers rather than the unpredictable tourist trade.

“If you look at most developing countries, when the economy picks up, people shift from beer and whiskey to wine. It’s happening in China and India and we expect it to happen in Myanmar too.”

Passengers referring to this ad will be eligible for free transportation and 10% discount on any purchase.

No. 527 New University Avenue, Bahan Township, Yangon 11201, Myanmar.Tel: + 95 1 549 612 Fax: + 95 1 545 770

E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.manawmayagems.comMondays to Saturdays 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, by appointment only on Sundays and Public holidays.


I n 1985, U Hla Myint was confronted with a problem. His 22-year-old daughter,

Ma Htay Htay, was suffering badly from menstrual pains. But instead of seeking

conventional treatment, U Hla Myint hit the books and studied traditional medicine.

“I wanted to cure my daughter,” recalls U Hla Myint, now 78. Motherless from just

one month of age – and fatherless from 14 – U Hla Myint had worked a variety of

jobs, from hauling bunches of bananas for two kyats an hour in his native village near

Zalun township, Ayeyarwady Region, to setting type at the Yan Naing Printing House in

Yangon. But before 1985, he’d never been a professional medicine man.

Traditional medicine still commands respect in Myanmar. On the streets of Yangon,

vendors sell roots for treating acne and seeds to cure cancer. Honeys that promise to

act as everything from memory aids to aphrodisiacs are sold on pharmacy shelves next

to packets of paracetamol. Anti-malarial wine is available in bottle stores, and many of

Yangon’s prominent politicians and captains of industry often treat themselves to – and

with – acupuncture therapy.

Traditional medicine:East beats West

Words by Kyle Sherer


And roughly a century ago, the

holy grail of Asian traditional

medicine – Tiger Balm –

was developed in Yangon.

Concocted by a Chinese

herbalist who lived near

Kandawgyi Lake, the original

Tiger Balm factory operated on

the site where the Chatrium

Hotel now sits.

According to Ministry of

Health training books,

traditional medication is based

on four principles: Dasana

naya (teaching of the Buddha);

Bayisa naya (anatomy); Nakata

naya (astrology); and Vizadaya

naya (the mundane world and

supra mundane world).

However, U Hla Myint was not

unacquainted with the world

of traditional medicine when

he decided to enter the field to

help his daughter.

“I have been familiar with

traditional medicine since I

was a little boy,” he says.

“My great grandfather was a

master healer. He could sense

patients’ pain from afar. He

was famous for healing stroke

victims, and treating people

with leprosy for their pain.

They called him ‘the healer

from the heavens’.

“I have been studying

traditional medicine my whole

life. I self-studied by reading

books and treatises, and then

took three 12-week courses in

1978.”

The result of his studying was

Kathy Pan – a homemade

tablet with 22 ingredients

sourced from native barks,

plants and weeds. He gave it

to his daughter and it helped

alleviate her pain. But U Hla

Myint didn’t stop there. “After

she was better, I wanted to

share the solution with my

friends,” he says. And after

two years of experimentation,

which saw the product tested

and changed, and feedback

was given by trusted friends,

U Hla Myint formed the

Kathy Pan medicine company

and began to distribute his

products. News spread slowly

at first, via word of mouth, and

production was limited by the

company’s hand-crank tablet

press, but the medicine grew

in popularity.

“We started in 1987 with

hand-made tablets. By 1994,

advertising made [Kathy Pan]

more and more popular. In

2000, we got a new machine

that let us make larger

quantities of medicine,” says

U Hla Myint.

Today the Kathy Pan Medicine

company, run by Daw Htay

Htay since 2005, exports six

types of traditional medicine

to Singapore, where they are

shipped to countries including

Malaysia, Thailand, Japan,

and Australia. The company’s

factory, which employs 50

people, produces four to

five tonnes of medicine a

month, all made from natural

ingredients.

“In my opinion, Western

medicine is very chemical,”

says U Hla Myint. “[Whereas]

traditional medicine is very

natural. It’s wholesome.”

Daw Htay Htay says Myanmar’s

traditional medicine is similar

to products found in other

countries in the region.

“We use the same chemicals,

the same products, the same

basic ingredients. But the

manufacturing process is

different,” she says.

“Myanmar traditional medicine

is mainly powders and capsules,

rather than liquids. We [also]

work with older machinery.”

Kathy Pan sells for K1080 a

“ Traditional medication is based on four principles: Dasana naya (teaching of the Buddha); Bayisa naya (anatomy); Nakata naya (astrology); and Vizadaya naya (the mundane world and supra mundane world).


“

box and is marketed as a tonic

and pain reliever for women,

with the packaging showing

a young, smiling girl with a

flower in her hair. But while the

medicine gave the company

its name and its start, over

the years the company’s other

products have overtaken it in

popularity. “We have medicine

for pain relief in children,

for tension headaches, for

cramps, for reducing obesity,”

says Daw Htay Htay.

“The best seller used to be

the one for children, but it has

been overtaken this year by

the one that reduces obesity.

Nowadays, people are getting

fatter, and they need this

medicine for their lifestyle.”

But changing lifestyles also

have negative effects on the

traditional medicine industry,

as people increasingly turn to

Western medicine for health

solutions.

“People now want to do

things the easy way,” says U

Hla Myint. “If they feel pain

they don’t want to know about

the source of their pain, about

the cause and effect. They just

want a painkiller.”

Daw Htay Htay said that

there has also been a gradual

reduction in the number

of traditional medicine

practitioners.

“You can’t study alone,” she

says. “You have to work with a

teacher. And teachers are rare.

There’s only a few people left

who know the art.

“I want to teach a new

generation. [But now] it’s very

rare to find people interested

in traditional medicine. It’s just

handed down from generation

to generation.”

Nevertheless, U Hla Myint

says there will always be a

market for traditional medicine

in Myanmar.

“There is a very constant

type of consumer,” he

says, “one who will always

be strongly committed to

traditional medicine. Even

though Western medicines are

becoming [more popular], a

certain type of person will cling

People now want to do things the easy way. If they feel pain they don’t want to know about the source of their pain, about the cause and effect. They just want a painkiller.


to traditional medicine, and I

make my products for them.”

Also tapping that market is

Fame Pharmaceuticals – a

Yangon-based company

established in 1994, which

exports traditional medicine to

countries including Singapore,

South Korea and Japan.

Foremost in Fame’s arsenal is

its line of nine types of honey

that are each infused with

traditional herbs and roots.

Noni honey, marketed as a

“cancer prevention” product,

also promises general pain

relief and a “euphoric” effect.

Licorice honey is designed to

treat peptic ulcers, flatulence

and hyperacidity. Asparagus

honey is a “tonic” and

Propolis honey is used in

some Myanmar hospitals as a

wound dressing.

Fame also has a “LadyMax”

line of traditional medicine

aimed at women, including

LadyMax Breast Enlargement

cream and LadyMax

Depigmentation cream,

which is made with aloe

vera, avocado, pineapple and

licorice, and promises to fade

freckles and whiten skin.

But outside of the factories

and workshops of the big

companies, many traditional

practitioners are content to

ply their trade in small villages,

or in street side stalls, just as

their ancestors did.

U Than Win sells natural

medicine every day on Bogyoke

Aung San Road in downtown

Yangon, laying out his products

on a small white tarp.

He buys the roots and seeds

from a larger merchant and

resells them to his clients

at a mark-up that’s so small

on some days he barely has

enough money for a taxi ride

home. He says that many of

his customers are regulars,

and that he never fails to

recognise them – or their

previous ailments.

“I’m not worried about any

side-effects [from traditional

medicine],” he says. “I trust in

the books.”

But outside of the factories and workshops of the big companies, many traditional practitioners are content to ply their trade in small villages, or in street side stalls, just as their ancestors did.

“

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