Along with cooking oil, the price of rice, a staple food, has risen exponentially since the military coup. According to the Military Council’s reference price of 110,000 kyats per bag of Shwebo Porsan, the price has risen to around 140,000 kyats per bag in the external retail market.
The price of raw rice for the grassroots is 60,000 to 74,000 per bag in the foreign market. Before the seizure of power, the price of a good quality’s bag was less than 100,000 kyats. Rice prices have risen to at least double. The middle class can still buy and eat good rice before. Now, the price of rice, which we rely on every day, has gone up, and now we are worried about food. Rough rice, which used to be about 30,000, has now exceeded 60,000. The rice prices are unheard of. But because it’s essential to eat, the price has gone up.
Myanmar is one of the countries that produces the most rice, but due to the fighting after the military council coup, most of the farmers are avoiding the war. Although the price of rice has risen, the military council is in desperate need of dollars, so there has been no reduction in foreign exports.
