Arakan State residents sell gold as livelihood hardships mount

By Admin 30 May 2024

DMG Newsroom
30 May 2024, Sittwe

The number of people selling or pawning their gold items is on the rise in Arakan State, where military tensions between the Arakkha Army (AA) and Myanmar military continue to escalate, according to gold shop owners.

More and more people are offloading their gold due to livelihood difficulties, the gold shop owners said.

“There is almost no demand for gold items. There are many people who sell or pawn their gold items. People not only from Kyauktaw but also from other areas are selling their gold,” said a gold shop owner in Kyauktaw.

Local people in Arakan State have seen the availability of commodities dwindle and the prices of commodities skyrocket since junta blockades went into effect in November 2023.

The ranks of the unemployed are also increasing in Arakan State, and as the banking system has suffered significant functional paralysis since hostilities began in November, there are delays in making financial transactions.

“We have to sell the gold items to solve our livelihood hardships since we became unemployed amid skyrocketing commodity prices. We will go hungry in the long run,” said a local woman in Mrauk-U.

Gold mortgage sales are only accepted to a limited extent due to the devaluation of the Myanmar kyat and the rise in gold and foreign currency prices, according to gold entrepreneurs.

The gold price was over K5.5 million per tical for 24K gold and the price for 22K gold reached around K5.2 million per tical in Arakan State on Wednesday, according to gold shop owners. The price for 24K gold increased to more than K5.8 million per tical and the price for 22K gold reached around K5.4 million per tical in Arakan State a day later, on May 30.

“The number of people selling their gold is increasing daily. We buy gold items on a limited basis as we are running out of money due to the rise in gold prices,” said a gold shop owner in Mrauk-U.