Soaring prices hit harder in remote Paletwa amid transport restrictions

12 Mar 2022

DMG Newsroom
12 March 2022, Paletwa, Chin State 

Locals in Paletwa Township, Chin State, are facing difficulties as the prices of basic commodities such as fuel, cooking oil and rice are soaring due to restrictions on the transportation of goods. 

The main trade artery to Paletwa town is the Kyauktaw-Paletwa route, where goods are transported via Kyauktaw Township in Arakan State. At present, a state-owned vessel is being operated by the military council between Kyauktaw and Paletwa, but it is restricted from carrying rice, cooking oil, steel and cement products, according to locals. 

As a result, local prices are skyrocketing as Paletwa residents struggle to transport these products by any means available. 

“So far, rice, cooking oil, cement and steel products have not been allowed to be imported into Paletwa. I don’t know why these items are not allowed. Consumer goods have now doubled in price,” said a resident of Paletwa town. 

Gasoline prices have risen from about K2,000 per litre to about K4,000 per litre. One bag of Paw Hsan Hmwe (Myanmar pearl rice) has risen from K50,000 to K60,000, while one sack of low-grade rice has risen to K30,000 from K35,000, according to locals. A litre of cooking oil has risen from around K3,000 to K4,500-K5,000.

 Ko Thet San Oo, a Paletwa resident, said that some three-wheeled motorbike drivers had to stop operating due to rising fuel prices. 

“Gasoline costs about K4,000 per litre, with [motorbike drivers] consuming almost a gallon of gas a day. It is not convenient for us because we earn only K5,000 a day. As commodity prices have risen, so has the cost of living. Some three-wheeled motorbike drivers had to stop operations,” he told DMG. 

Many Paletwa residents agree that one of the quickest ways to bring down commodity prices would be to lift the transportation restrictions currently in place.