Junta roads blockade forces Arakan marine industry to suspend operations

By Admin 12 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
12 December 2023, Sittwe

Fishing operations have effectively ceased in Arakan State and fish and prawn cannot be exported to mainland Myanmar due to the junta’s blockading of land and water routes to the state.

“We can buy fish and prawn in Arakan State, but we cannot export them to mainland Myanmar. Fishermen face livelihood hardships as wholesale centres stop buying fish and prawn,” said a fish and prawn wholesale centre owner in Pauktaw Township.

He continued that currently, the employees’ salaries have to be paid, and if the regime blocks the roads for a long time, the business will have to stop.

Some prawn breeders from Sittwe and Kyaukphyu are able to export some fish and prawns to mainland Myanmar by air, but it is not economically viable.

“We can export fish and prawns to mainland Myanmar by air, but we can’t deliver as much as we ordered. Fish and prawns are exported to Yangon, but the price is not as good as before, so no profit is made,” said Ko Aye Tun Maung, a prawn merchant in Sittwe.

Only about 70 kilogrammes of prawns can be shipped by air per day, and 1 kilogramme costs K6,500 as a transportation charge. He added that in the past, one viss of prawn was priced at K52,000, but currently it is only being exported at a rate of K35,000 to K40,000.

Most of the prawn breeders are selling fish and prawns at low prices in Arakan State. Fish and prawns farmed in Sittwe, Maungdaw, Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U, Pauktaw, Minbya, Myebon, Kyaukphyu, Taungup and Thandwe townships are sold in Arakan State at lower prices.

“As we cannot export fish and prawn to mainland Myanmar, we sell them in Arakan State at lower prices,” said a prawn breeder in Taungup.

It has been nearly one month since the regime blockaded land and water routes on November 13 and the grassroots including fishermen in Arakan State are struggling to make ends meet.

Since Arakan State is a coastal region, most locals make their living from agriculture or fishing. Local businessmen in Arakan State want the regime to reopen land and water routes as soon as possible.