Salesgirl Ma Zin Mar displays tubs of thanaka paste made by Shwe Pyi Nann, at the company’s retail outlet at Bogyoke Aung San Market, Yangon, on September 20.

THE Philippines is shaping up as a strong export market for local ready-to-use thanaka producer Shwe Pyi Nann, the company’s managing director said last week.

“The amount we’re exporting has tripled since we made a deal with MSLAL Trading Co., Ltd as the sole distributor” in June 2005, Shwe Pyi Nann managing director U Kyaw Min said.

Available in supermarkets and various smaller outlets, Shwe Pyi Nann markets its eight varieties of thanaka cream in the Philippines as a skincare product.

Unlike in Myanmar, where people use the paste made from ground up tree bark as a type of makeup, U Kyaw Min said the trend in the Philippines was for both men and women to apply thanaka in the privacy of their homes before going to bed at night.

Shwe Pyi Nann has been making the ready-to-use pastes in plastic containers since 1991 and started exports to neighbouring countries in 1997.

It is now eyeing sales growth in Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, although U Kyaw Min said the company was waiting until sales from independent thanaka dealers in these countries increased before it approached established distributors to strike larger supply deals.

He predicted this would happen within the next two years.