Displaced people in Karenni State are facing increasing hardship as the commodity prices continues to rise amidst the declining value of the Myanmar Kyat, according to displaced people.
An IDP woman who lives in western Dee Maw Hso said the commodity prices has doubled within a week.
“I’ve been buying vegetables such as morning glory, mustard greens, and green chilies during these two months. However, I haven’t seen a price increase for these, maybe because they are locally produced, or I am not sure if its due to local availability or the season. However, the price of tomatoes has increased significantly. Last week, I bought a pound of tomatoes for 1,500 Kyat. Just a few days later, it went up to 2,000 Kyat. Yesterday, I bought another pound, and it was 3,000 Kyat. The tomatoes that are not in perfect shape cost 2,500 Kyat, while the nicer ones are 3,000 Kyat,” she said.
She added that currently dried foods like noodles and dried fish, along with other commodity prices, have also increased in price within these weeks compared to last week.
Fuel prices, however, have not seen further increases due to existing stockpiles. The value of the Kyat has been steadily declining, rising from around 4,000 Kyat per US dollar on May 23rd to over 4,500 Kyat per US dollar in just a week. Business owners predict that the Kyat will continue to depreciate.
Karenni’s IDPs, who are unemployed and have no income sources, are increasingly concerned about their livelihood problems due to the rising commodity prices.
