Commodity Prices Soar but Regime Boss Blames Lazy Citizens, Resistance
Prices of basic commodities like rice, cooking oil and eggs have risen three- to eightfold over the five years since the coup due to chronic mismanagement by the centralized military regime.
Trying to reduce foreign currency spending, the cash-strapped regime’s severe restrictions on the import of essential goods including medicines is one of the main reasons for shortages and soaring prices.
Taking as the measure Myanmar’s national breakfast dish Mohinga—fish soup with rice noodles—the price has soared more than fourfold from around 1,000 kyats (US$ 0.2) in 2021 to 4,500 kyats, leaving many unable to afford the staple.
At the same time the minimum wage has been frozen at 4,800 kyats (US$1.06) since 2018, with an additional daily allowance of 3,000 kyats.
After the coup, a loss of confidence caused the kyat to tank against the safe-haven U.S. dollar and gold as many well-to-do people parked their money overseas. The dollar market rate has crossed 4,500 kyats, though the regime has frozen it at an artificial exchange rate of some 3,360 kyats, while gold soared 10-fold over the period.
Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing vowed to improve the economy within 100 days of appointing himself president early this year but admitted defeat this week.
“Yes, it’s true that prices are soaring,” he said at an agricultural development workshop in Naypyitaw on Monday.
But he appeared to blame lazy producers for the shortage in supply.
“Meat and fish prices are high due to the lack of production,” he claimed.
And while he conceded that production costs are rising due to the high transportation, fuel and labor costs, he blamed road checkpoints set up by ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and the heartland resistance for supply disruptions.
“There are a lot of illegal gates across the country. and that made the prices soar,” Min Aung Hlaing said.
In reality, truck drivers report no fewer than 70 of the regime’s own checkpoints along the old and new Yangon–Mandalay highways and numerous others on the Myawaddy trade route, a vital supply line for imports from Thailand. Each extorts tens of thousands to millions of kyats from passing drivers.
The prices of basic foodstuffs are soaring apace. Rice, palm oil, eggs and water spinach prices have risen almost 10-fold, aggravating the hardships of ordinary people. Fuel prices have soared six-fold since the coup.
It is the same story for basic medicines amid regime-imposed import restrictions, with many foreign-made drugs now completely unavailable.
But Min Aung Hlaing was adamant that Myanmar’s people are to blame. “If the country has no income, we can’t import from other countries,” he said.
And he had stern words for those who complain: ”You can’t just shout without working,” he added.
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