CNI News

22 August 2022

In the villages in Shwebo Township, rice remains to be sold, but with the owners of the machinery, traders and brokers are having difficulty buying, said the millers from Shwebo.

Although the farmers in Di Pe Yin Village and other villages in Shwebo Township still have remaining rice in ther hands, but due to the volatile situation of the area, it is not possible to make the purchases and the mill has to take a halt from running, said the owner of the mill in Shwebo Daw Htwe Yee (Name changed) to CNI News Agency.

“In some small villages, there is still Shwebo Bosan (Shwebo rice). There is still some left in Dee Peyin, and the areas between Dee Peyin and Yayoo out of many Shwebo townships. But there has not been a sharp increase in the price of rice in that area and there is remaining rice there. No one dares to go there nor do they dare to come out since there are armed forces there. And the army carries out the operations a lot. When there are armed forces, we as the mill owners and the brokers, have to be afraid of the soldiers as well as the others. When we go to buy rice, we bring the money for the rice with us. If not, they will not allow us to go though. At the moment, we are compelled to pay it since we are on the money-related business. When they demand 200,000 lakhs or 300,000 lakhs, we have no choice but to pay. Even if they take 10,000,000 from us, we cannot do anything. It’s about the use of an organization there. Even life is not guaranteed there. Going means sending the workers there. They have their families. So, if there comes up a problem within their family, it is on us. So even if it doesn’t work, we can’t do it like this. We are just taking a break with no rice. Running the mills is also on a halt,” she said.

while seeing a rice mill along the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Bo Kalay Township

According to rice traders, due to the lack of traffic instability in transporting Shwebo bosan and the shortage of the remaining ones in their hands, the price of Shwebo bosan has rose from around 70,000 kyats per bag to about 100,000 kyats at the present.

Currently, due to the increase in the price of Shwebo price, people have been consuming the Irrawaddy rice instead. There followed the increase in the price of Irrawaddy rice and subsequently deficiency of it, said U Shai Win Lat, the owner of San Shwebo trading from Wah Tan Road Commodity Depot.

“Of course, the price is on the increase when you buy rice. When it is up by 5 to 7 thousand, the prices are very high in the buying market. And the material is not as abundant as before anymore. It is that way now when we buy things. Transportation is difficult. Some drivers cannot do much business in making the transportation.

When the price is too high, the consumer will only go for the cheaper side which is Irrawaddy rice compared with Shwebo rice. Even the price of Irrawaddy rice has gone up. Because of the surging price of Shwebo san, people now eat Irrawaddy rice. Some rice can’t even be bought as they are out of stock in the depots. We can also see situations like these, he said to CNI News Agency.

It is reported that Shwebo rice is widely consumed in Yangon and hilly regions and that there is little consumption of it in regions and states.

Due to the territorial instability in the Shwebo region, the farmers are finding it difficult to grow rice. The miller owners have said the planting rate is not even 75 percent this year.

In addition, although the planted rice must be harvested in December, the miller owners and the traders will not be able to make the purchases in the absence of territorial stability.