Oyster sellers in Arakan State grapple with lower prices, labour shortages

By DMG 23 Sep 2021

DMG Newsroom
23 September 2021, Sittwe

Oyster sellers in Arakan State are reportedly facing difficulties due to lower prices.

Previously, an oyster was sold for more than K1,000, but the price of an oyster is now around K700 due to political unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic in Myanmar.

In addition, the number of oyster buyers is declining compared with previously, said Ko Khaing Aung, an oyster catcher from Awataung village in Letpan village-tract, Ramree Township.

“The current political situation and the Covid-19 epidemic have made it difficult for us to export oysters. Oysters cannot be sold for the time being and are not as good as they used to be. When oysters are sold again, it is not convenient for us because buyers from mainland Myanmar transfer money via Wave pay,” Ko Khaing Aung told DMG, referring to a widely used online payment application in Myanmar.

Some people in Arakan State who are engaged in oyster fishing are struggling to make ends meet, he added. Oysters are shipped to various townships in Myanmar as well as Arakan State.

Ko Kyaw Nyein from Awataung village in Ramree Township, who has been making a living as an oyster dealer, told DMG that he had to suspend his business because he could not afford to hire workers.

“I [previously] hired the workers from the Ayeyarwady Region, so they do not come to work here [anymore] due to the political situation. ... So, I had to suspend my business,” he explained.

In Ramree Township, oysters are typically fished from the Donkon River and the Paiksaik River.