Cargo truck shortage in northern Arakan State

By Admin 07 Jul 2023

DMG Newsroom
7 July 2023, Sittwe

Local people in northern Arakan State are having to import goods, including basic food, primarily from mainland Myanmar following Cyclone Mocha, causing a shortage of cargo trucks, officials of the cargo gate in Sittwe said.

Local people from eight townships in northern Arakan State are ordering commodities from mainland Myanmar after thousands of homes and many acres of fruit trees were destroyed by Cyclone Mocha.

“There are more orders than before, so there are not enough cargo trucks to deliver the goods. On the way, there are too many vehicles from mainland Myanmar, so it takes longer than usual,” said an official from a cargo gate offering cargo services between Sittwe and Yangon, and Sittwe and Mandalay.

Some of the trucks are rented by relief groups and some traders to transport goods, and the trucks at the Sittwe highway bus terminal are not enough and there is a problem in terms of transportation, truck officials said.

At present, more than 30 trucks carrying vegetables, basic foodstuffs and other items enter Sittwe every day, and since there are not enough trucks, such that traders have to use passenger buses to transport their goods.

“As there are not enough cargo trucks, there are delays in the journey of the goods, so traders want the goods quickly, so they order them by passenger buses. There, the transportation charge is higher than usual,” the official added.

There are more cargo trucks coming to Arakan State than usual, so there are delays along the road due inspections at junta security checkpoints. In addition, transportation charges have increased significantly, buyers said.

“Transportation charges are very expensive. I paid K60,000 as transportation charge for two baskets of mung bean sprouts. Normally I pay a maximum of K20,000 as a transportation charge. Many others are also experiencing similar phenomena. As the transportation charge is expensive, we have no profit anymore,” said Daw Khaing Khaing Chay, a vegetable vendor at Sittwe’s Myoma Market.

As the seasonal crop fields in Arakan State were damaged by the cyclonic storm, fruits and vegetables are imported from mainland Myanmar every day.

Truck officials said that the transportation charge is collected depending on the value of the goods, even if they are weighed in kilogrammes.

Cyclone Mocha, which made landfall with destructive force on May 14, destroyed thousands of homes and buildings in Arakan State.