Maungdaw: A rice cargo ship arrived and harbored on Tuesday in Maungdaw, a western Burmese border town that was recently hit by floods and landslides, but the rice is not intended for relief aid for victims, said locals.
One witness said, "The cargo ship carried 3,000 rice sacks to Maungdaw from Sittwe, but it is for selling in the markets, not for the flood victims. A rice company sent the rice to Maungdaw to sell at lower prices when the price of rice skyrocketed after the flooding."
The rice company, In Paukwa, sent the rice to Maungdaw with the agreement of the local authorities that it could be sold to local residents at prices that undercut the current market prices.
A rice merchant said, "The company plans to sell the rice to local people for 15,000 kyat per sack. This is 5,000 kyat less than the price of rice in local markets, but it is not enough to meet the local demand."
In Maungdaw Township, the price of rice and other commodities skyrocketed soon after flooding began because the only road used to transport goods into the area was badly damaged.
In the Maungdaw markets, the price of lower standard rice increased from 15,000 kyat per 25-kilogram sack to 20,000 kyat, while the high standard rice increased from 27,000 kyat per sack to 31,000 kyat.
Other commodities, including onions, legumes, cooking oil, chili, sugar, salt, and eggs have also increased in price recently.
The price of onions doubled from 400 kyat per viss to 800 kyat, while the price of garlic went up from 3,200 kyat to 3,600 kyat. Cooking oil increased from 2,200 kyat to 2,600 kyat, and the price of sugar increased from 1,200 kyat per viss to 1,600 kyat.
People in Maungdaw, where the most people were affected by the flood, are suffering from the skyrocketing prices of rice and commodities.
The military government recently announced that they are providing relief aid to flood victims in Buthidaung and Maungdaw, but the amount of aid reaching people is limited and insufficient.
It was learned that flood victims have now returned back to their homes from the shelters set up in Maungdaw Township, but they have not yet received any materials from the government to help rebuild their damaged houses
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