One pyi of rice costs Kyats 10,000 in Ann, manual labourers survive with dry rice

One pyi of rice costs Kyats 10,000 in Ann township of Rakhine State and hence  manual labourers are now surviving with dry rice.

A local housewife of a nine-member family informed Narinjara News that the price  of rice is increasing due to the military junta's travel restrictions in many parts of Rakhine State.  As a result, rice grains became unavailable in the market and now costs Kyats 10,000 per pyi.

"Previously, one pyi of rice cost only Kyats 4,000. Now a bag of rice costs over Kyats 200,000. Currently, rice grains have become unavailable in the shops. The situation puts our family in great difficulties," she added.

Another local woman revealed that because of the shortage of rice grains, the people now can not afford to have two meals a day. Many of them are forced to eat only one meal and resort to dry rice for the other.

"There are starving people and some are having limited rice grains. Even some are resorting to washing and drying pig swill to eat,” she added.

Besides the scarcity of rice, other essential grocery items like ramen and snacks are also vanishing from the Ann markets.

"Apart from rice, the prices of all food items have increased. Snacks, which were previously priced at Kyats 1,000, now cost Kyats 3,000. We are going through a lot of difficulties,” said another woman.

Ann township gives shelter to over 100,000 people, out of which  60,000 residents have already left their places.

In March, hundreds of people scrambled to get two pyi of rice in front of the grocery stores. Currently the rice shops are closed.