Stepped up security inspections disrupt flow of goods into Arakan State

By DMG 09 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
9 July 2022, Sittwe  

Tightened junta security checks on supply routes are severely disrupting and delaying the flow of goods into Arakan State, Arakanese merchants complain. 

Transportation of consumer goods including foodstuffs from Yangon, Mandalay and other parts of the country is taking much longer than usual due to the regime’s more stringent checks on cargo trucks bound for Arakan State, according to U Tin Aung Oo, chairman of the Arakan State Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

“The flow of commodities has slowed down. Perishable goods turn bad on the way, and merchants are suffering losses,” he said. 

Transportation time has almost doubled due to the stepped up security protocols and other logistical hassles associated with the monsoon season. 

There are checkpoints in almost every Arakan State township, where cargo truck and passenger bus drivers are asked to show their citizenship IDs and a list of passengers if applicable. Cargo truck drivers must also furnish approval documents from the state security and border affairs minister, and they are sometimes asked to show the cargo as well. 

Passengers are extremely annoyed by the junta security checks, and cargo truck drivers sometimes have to sleep by the roadside due to a curfew order, said a Sittwe-Mandalay cargo truck driver who asked for anonymity. 

“Now, we have to spend 10 hours on a route that normally takes five hours. We are not allowed to pass the checkpoints at night. And passengers are worn out by tightened checks,” said the driver. 

Because air transport is costly and water routes generally take more time, Arakanese people mainly rely on road transportation to bring in commodities from other parts of Myanmar. 

U Maung Hla Tun, a vegetable wholesaler at Sittwe’s central market, said he is struggling because produce sometimes goes bad during the lengthened transportation process, and at best has a significantly reduced shelf life by the time it reaches the market.  

“Sometimes, I have to sell at low prices just to break even,” he added. 

Grocer Daw Tin Tin Oo, meanwhile, said goods at her store run out of stock with greater frequency due to the transportation delays. 

DMG was unable to obtain comment from the Arakan State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Kyaw Thura on the junta’s tightened checks on buses and trucks bound for Arakan State. 

The regime has imposed tighter security checks on both traffic and residents of Arakan State amid rising military tensions between the military and Arakan Army.