In post-coup Sagaing, Monywa’s traders pushed to the brink

Tin, a major trader in Monywa city in Sagaing Region, used to draw motivation each morning by looking at the sacks of beans packed in his warehouse, imagining and planning his future work. Now, instead of those bean sacks, relatives from rural areas, friends, and farming families have arrived, turning his trading warehouse into something resembling an IDP camp. "They've been fleeing war for about three years now, so I haven't been able to store goods in the warehouse," Tin lamented. Local residents from villages around Monywa have been taking shelter with friends and relatives in the city due to fighting in their villages, with some arriving at Tin's warehouse with complete sets of household items. Like Tin, traders in Monywa, who have made their living through generational trading businesses, said they have been continuously losing work starting during the COVID-19 pandemic and the military coup in 2021. For major business owners, the situation has become one where they should stay far from Monywa and remain silent. Except for the townships located along the banks of the Ayeyarwady River such as Katha, Indaw, and Tigyaing, the collection point for agricultural products from across Sagaing Region was in Monywa city. Agricultural products from Magway’s Gangaw, Yaw, and Pakokku areas were also transported to and sold in Monywa. Monywa is the largest port city on the Chindwin River and a central hub where goods once moved freely by land and water. But since resistance forces now control about two-thirds of Sagaing, the junta has tightened road checkpoint inspections to cut off supplies and information. About half of Myanmar's bean varieties come from Sagaing. It is no longer easy to transport beans and oil crops to trading houses in Monywa, Myanmar's third-largest commodity hub. A veteran trader in the city, whose family has run the business for three generations, said previous eras — the Socialist Programme Party, the black-market years, the 8888 Uprising, and earlier juntas — all brought difficulties. But the post-coup period is the hardest yet. The 60-mile journey from Ye-U to Monywa, which once took two hours, now takes nearly six as drivers must detour along village roads. “Only those who are familiar with the route dare to travel. If you encounter junta army columns on the road, and you can settle it with money (bribes), it can be said that you're really lucky — at minimum, you'll get slapped around," says a driver operating the Monywa-Ye-U route. At city entrances, passengers are searched and arrested if they lack proper identification. Men often hide at home while women handle selling crops and buying necessities. "To go to the city once, I have to recite every prayer I know," a female passenger told Myanmar Now. Transportation costs have tripled. Even after goods reach warehouses, traders face extortion from junta patrols. "While unloading goods, if we encounter patrol vehicles, even if the driver isn't around, the junta troops will demand money from the trading house owners," a trader said. While businesses managed to survive in the early post-coup period, conditions have steadily worsened, said Phyo, a broker from Monywa's Aung Mingalar ward. "Right after the coup, we still had some momentum from the previous open era, so we could still operate a little," he said. Once a bustling trading hub, Monywa’s main commodity center now stands deserted—its warehouses emptied and streets quiet—as fighting and displacement grind business to a halt. (Photo: Supplied) A commodity hub under strain The hub where brokers, mill owners, and traders once gathered daily to set prices is located near the bus station between Monywa’s Main Road and Pyidaungsu Road. At its entrance stands a junta gate at the military-owned Myawaddy Bank, a frequent target for resistance fighters. Of more than 600 registered brokers and traders, around 200 used to gather daily. But now, activity is sporadic. "You can only go to the hub when the situations related to the route in the city are good,” a trader said. “Before, I went every day.” Over 30 crops: wheat, sesame, mung bean, pigeon peas, and groundnuts among them, are traded there. Sagaing’s main customers are China and India. Farmers sell to Monywa traders, who store crops for foreign buyers, then ship to Mandalay and Yangon. Wealthier farmers with capacity also store crops, waiting for better prices. But those days are fading, they say. "Now when military columns raid villages, they burn everything, so as soon as crops are harvested, we have to come to town immediately to sell," a farmer from Budalin Township told Myanmar Now. Warehouses are short on labor too. And workers from Shwebo no longer cross the Chindwin when fighting flares. "Sometimes when we don't have enough people, I even have to carry loads myself," a warehouse owner from Alel Ward said. Curfews empty Monywa after 5 pm, and shipping crops to Yangon or Mandalay is costly due to fees at armed groups’ gates. "On the Monywa-Mandalay road, you have to pay about 30 different armed groups before reaching the Sagaing Bridge entrance," a merchant told Myanmar Now. These costs make it impossible to offer competitive prices. "Because of excessive road fees, some farmers have started going directly to Mandalay to sell, so only about 40 percent now reach Monywa trading houses," a veteran bean trader said. Samples of dried goods and produce sit on display, the kinds of products that once fueled Monywa’s trading economy, but are now harder to move as commerce slows. (Photo: Supplied) Markets in decline To make the situation worse, border trade routes with China remain closed, forcing reliance on domestic markets. Wheat mills in Monywa cannot run at full capacity due to power cuts, so traders import flour from India are often delayed. India’s shifting bean import policies have also left traders vulnerable since 2017. Pigeon peas that closed at 150,000 kyat ($70 US) per tin last year are stuck at 90,000 this year. "Brokers and farmers who hoarded crops hoping for higher prices got their fingers burned," a bean trader said.Monywa’s market has long been central to the country’s economy. After the war, merchants from India, China, and those with Myanmar backgrounds established trading houses. These were later reorganized under religious associations when formal groups were banned. Then in 1990, they secured land to build the current commodity hub. During the Thein Sein and NLD governments, trade flourished. Monywa traders expanded ties with India’s Manipur state, once discussing opening a “Northeast India Inland Trade Center.” But all of that, traders say, “feels like a lost dream now.” After the coup, junta-appointed officials offered no relief. “They only come because they're obligated to come,” a veteran trader said. “The Sagaing Region military commission calls monthly meetings, but when we present difficulties and ask for solutions, nothing significant happens.” At the same time, prominent brokers have relocated to Pyin Oo Lwin and Yangon for safety, leaving only representatives behind. "Only medium-scale brokers and small-scale brokers remain at the hub,” one trader said. “The big businessmen have disappeared without a trace.” Extortion and instabilityRobbery and extortion have become routine in post coup Monywa. Sources say that armed groups in Monywa demand money either by brandishing weapons or by approaching casually, sometimes greeting traders as if asking for a donation On top of this, the May earthquake worsened the economic crisis. The old Sagaing Bridge collapsed, while the Yadanapone Bridge restricted truck access, slowing goods between Sagaing, Mandalay, and Yangon. "Just when bean prices were about to rise, the earthquake hit and all buyers stopped,” a Mandalay trader said. “Trading houses in Mandalay still haven't been able to operate normally more than two months after the earthquake.” For Tin, who has worked in crop trading for 40 years, the pressure has become overwhelming. Today, he is preparing to move to Yangon to live with his children, putting his apartment and warehouse up for sale. "At over 60 years old, I have to start a new life with a new job," Tin said, shaking his head in resignation. Business owners agree: Monywa, once the beating heart of Sagaing’s trade, is becoming unlivable. "Other cities may not be easier," one trader reflected. "But at least there, we can have a little peace of mind."

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