MRF to sell 50,000 bags of reserve rice in bid to stabilise domestic prices

By Admin 31 Jul 2023

DMG Newsroom
31 July 2023, Sittwe

The Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) announced Monday that it would sell 50,000 bags of 50-kilogramme reserve rice in order to stabilise domestic rice prices. The MRF did not disclose when and in what way the rice bags would be sold.

“The MRF is set to sell 50,000 sacks of rice initially in order to stabilise the price and for consumers to be able to buy the product at the right price,” the MRF joint general secretary, U Ne Lin, said via the junta-controlled broadcaster MRTV.

The MRF said there is enough Paw Hsan Hmwe and glutinous rice, as well as other rice varieties, for domestic consumption, so that people do not need to panic buy rice.

Rice traders, however, are not so sure. 

“When the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) was in charge, the price of rice really fell. Now, unlike in the past, the cost of production has increased,” said U Nay, a rice trader. “Not only are the prices of rice, but other commodities’ [prices] are also rising, so it’s hard to say if the price of rice will go down.”

A sack of Paw Hsan Hmwe rice currently sells for K128,000 and the prices of low-grade rice range from K61,000 to K70,000 in the domestic market. Rice prices have increased by K5,000 to K10,000 per sack in the domestic market following Cyclone Mocha, according to retailers.

“The price of rice will fall depending on the amount of reserve rice to be sold. The MRF will sell 50,000 bags of rice, so 2,500 tonnes of rice. The price of fine rice cannot fall. Although the prices of low-grade rice cannot fall, they cannot rise much,” said U Kyaw Min Soe, a rice mill owner in Ayeyarwady Region.

Following the military’s February 2021 coup, the price of domestic rice has tripled and the prices of other food items have also increased significantly.