Mizzima-July 9
The Myanmar junta has plunged the country into economic turmoil, worsening people’s financial burdens as it struggles to meet their basic needs, which in turn further exacerbates an already dire humanitarian crisis, according to advocacy group Progressive Voice. As the military junta desperately seeks hard currency to fund its campaign of terror, including purchasing supplies such as weapons, gas, and aviation fuel, it has been dragging the entire population into deeper poverty and plunging the country into economic turmoil. Inflation is soaring, the national currency is depreciating, and the cost of living has skyrocketed, intensifying the daily struggle of the Myanmar people to meet their basic needs, says Progressive Voice. In the latest in a series of arbitrary measures to control commodity prices, the junta has imposed price ceilings on rice, setting the retail price at 70,000 Myanmar Kyats (approximately USD 15) for a 48-kilogram sack of standard rice. To enforce this, the junta cracked down on rice traders at the end of June, including inspections of shopping malls and outlets in Yangon. Rice business executives, wholesalers, and warehouse staff were among those arrested. Facing a foreign currency shortage, over the past two weeks the junta has frozen 39 bank accounts linked to “hundi” cash transfer services, which are widely relied on by migrant workers. This is in addition to the junta’s order of mandatory remittance last September, requiring overseas workers to send 25% of their earnings back to Myanmar through junta-approved banks. A recent World Bank report highlighted that the junta’s measures aimed at balancing foreign exchange supply and demand by regulating official exchange rates have failed to alleviate persistent shortages of foreign currency. The report also noted that prices continue to trend upwards, with the World Food Program’s index indicating a 27 percent increase in food prices between October 2023 and April 2024, particularly affecting basic commodities such as rice, meat, edible oil, and vegetables. These appalling figures illustrate the dire struggle of Myanmar people to make ends meet, especially given that a daily wage of 5,800 Kyats (USD 2.76)—which has remained stagnant since the coup—is deplorable and insufficient to live compared to the soaring average food prices. Read more at: https://eng.mizzima.com/2024/07/09/11571
