Grassroots hard-hit by skyrocketing prices in Sittwe

By Admin 16 Oct 2025

DMG Newsroom

16 October 2025, Sittwe

The living conditions of locals in Sittwe, Arakan State, which is still under the control of Myanmar’s military regime, are deteriorating due to skyrocketing prices and a desperate lack of job opportunities.
 
The military regime has closed all entrances and exits to Sittwe and only allows one air route, trapping the financially impoverished grassroots in the Arakan State capital.
 
The regime is transporting basic food supplies to residents in Sittwe via large cargo ships from Yangon. However, locals say that the irregular arrival of cargo ships has led to price fluctuations, and that the lack of jobs has made it more difficult for the grassroots to make a living.
 
“Some merchants in Sittwe and Muslims buy goods brought in by cargo ships from Yangon,”  said a woman in Sittwe. “The merchants sell their goods only to those who are close to the military regime. The locals only buy what the merchants sell for at the price they are willing to pay. That’s why the prices of goods go up and down.”
 
In Sittwe, the price of one sack of high-grade Paw Hsan Hmwe rice has increased to K220,000, one bag of low-grade rice to K120,000, one viss of garlic to K35,000, one viss of onion to K15,000 and one viss of dried chili to K36,000.
 
Local residents in Sittwe have to buy one litre of fuel at K15,000, one litre of cooking oil at K14,000, one viss of chicken at K80,000, one viss of pork at K65,000 and one viss of beef at K55,000.
 
A 20-year-old woman said, “I have no job and no income. When I receive donations, I only get rice. I see some people eating rice porridge. People can’t bear the pain of hunger anymore. I see young girls becoming prostitutes.”
 
Locals say that many people, including the elderly and children, are begging on the streets to survive. Last month, a child reportedly died of malnutrition at Sittwe General Hospital.
 
Some residents in Sittwe have reportedly died by suicide due to the severe unemployment, rising prices, and food shortages.
 
“Some people go to other people’s houses to wash clothes and cook to earn a living. Everyone is struggling. They are starving because they don’t have work. Some people who can’t bear the pain of hunger even commit suicide,” said another woman in Sittwe.
  
“In Sittwe, men often do odd jobs like cargo workers,” said a 30-year-old man in Sittwe Township. “Some of them have no work, so they break into empty houses and sell [the contents], break down fences and sell it as firewood like it’s normal. There is no one to take action or stop them. It is even worse. They have no work and no income, so they are just trying to make money any way they can.”
 
The military regime has restricted the shipment of goods to Sittwe by sea and air, leading some locals who work in cargo handling to stop working, further shrinking the limited job pool.
 
The Arakan Army (AA) is currently blockading Sittwe, and the regime has made military preparations to prevent the Arakanese ethnic armed group from entering the Arakan State capital.
 
The military regime is also frequently shelling Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, and Pauktaw townships, which border Sittwe.