Calls for Rice Reserve in Arakan State

By Admin 07 Aug 2023

DMG Newsroom
7 August 2023, Sittwe
 
Rice merchants and businessmen say there is an urgent need for a rice reserve for Arakan State, which remains badly affected by Cyclone Mocha.
 
The businessmen said that they have submitted a request for reserve rice to the Arakan State military council to facilitate the people’s livelihood, but they have not yet been granted permission.
 
“There is no reserve rice in Arakan State. We have submitted a request for reserve rice to the Arakan State military council to facilitate the people’s livelihood, but we have not yet been granted permission. If faced with a natural disaster, the people’s livelihood can be solved with reserve rice. The Arakan State military council has yet to sell reserve rice,” said U Thawtar Aung, general secretary of Arakan State Rice Millers Association.
 
As there is no reserve rice in Arakan State, the grassroots are suffering more from the consequences of natural disasters, and businessmen point out that if they have reserve rice, they can sell it at a low price.
 
“A government needs to plan in advance to have food and reserve rice in areas prone to natural disasters at any time. The people have no reserve rice, so they suffer more. Especially the ordinary people are more affected by natural disasters and subsequent problems, so as a government, it is essential to manage reserve rice,” said U Khin Maung Gyi, a businessman in Arakan State.
 
A sack of Shwebo Paw Hsan Hmwe rice currently sells for K110,000 to K120,000 and the prices of Ayeyarwaddy Paw Hsan Hmwe range from K94,000 to K97,000. The low-grade rice will be sold for K65,000 per sack at Yangon rice brokerage starting from August 7, the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) said in a statement.
 
DMG contacted U Hla Thein, spokesperson of the Arakan State military council, regarding the storage of reserve rice in Arakan State, but he could not be reached.
 
Less than 900,000 out of 1.2 million acres of arable land in Arakan State could be cultivated last year due to the high cost of farming, conflict, and about 45 percent of farmlands being damaged by drought. Rice is imported from mainland Myanmar annually because there is not enough rice in Arakan State, according to rice merchants.
 
The grassroots in Arakan State are facing food difficulties due to rising commodity prices and lack of jobs after Cyclone Mocha made landfall with destructive force on May 14.