The price of rice grains  in Rakhine State has gone up in the recent past and it has severely affected the entire Rakhine population under the military regime.

In Sittwe, the market price of Porsan Mwe brand rice was between Kyats 42,000 and 52,000 per bag (48 kilogram) last month, but today it has risen to Kyats 45,000 and 57,000.

A Sri Dom brand rice bag cost Kyats  36,000 last month and  now it is up to Kyats 40,000 per bag. One bag of Mano Thukha brand rice used to cost Kyats 33,000 a few weeks back and now it is Kyats 35,000. In summary, every brand of rice has increased its price by 10 percent.

The price of a bag of rice in Yangon has risen from Kyats 70,000 to around 100,000. As a large volume of rice has been sent to Yangon from Rakhine State, its price has increased there too.

A rice shop owner in Sittwe said that if the Shwebo brand rice is priced at Kyats 50,000 per bag in Rakhine State, the traders in Yangon sell it as high as Kyats 60,000.

A bag of Porsan Mwe rice cost  Kyats 50,000 in Min Bya township last month, but it has now increased up to Kyats 60,000, said Ma Khin Than Nwqi, a local rice shop owner.

Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships, where the price of rice remains always high, have now witnessed abrupt increases in price in recent days.

Time has been cruelling to the common people as the price of rice has gone up. Most of them can not earn even Kyats 100,000 per month and it emerges as a difficult job for them to survive. If the military council does not take interest in resolving the issue, many poor families have to starve in the coming days.