Irrawaddy-Aug 15
Prices of food and other basic necessities continue to soar in Myanmar despite the recent formation of a committee designed to combat the problem. The Union Steering Committee to Stabilize Commodity Prices, led by Commerce Minister Aung Naing Oo, was formed in the last week of June. The Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation minister was appointed vice-chair of the committee, whose 17 members also include nine deputy ministers, the vice-chair of the central bank, and director-general of the special investigation department. The panel has been tasked with stabilizing prices of basic products like rice, cooking oil and other kitchen commodities.
It is also responsible for monitoring the balance between domestic production and demand of basic foodstuffs. According to the regime’s announcement on its formation, the committee is empowered to combat any actions that threaten the stability of prices for basic commodities. It was formed more than two years after a military coup that triggered turmoil and hardship for millions of people in Myanmar. Since the February 2021 putsch, prices of necessities have doubled or even tripled under the military regime’s economic mismanagement. Although the committee has now been operating for almost two months, prices of basic products are still rising, said a housewife in Yangon. Given that the minimum wage is only 4,800 kyats per day, many people are already in crisis, with no sign of relief from the soaring commodity prices. Local junta officials are now warning food sellers in Yangon townships not to inflate product prices. But the cautions appear to have had little effect.
A business analyst said the public knows that the price-control committee won’t work. He added that the main problem is the lack of trust in the junta and its policies, along with public distrust of the central bank under military rule. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/business/price-control-panel-fails-to-stem-myanmars-growing-food-crisis.html
