Myanmar military regime arrests rice merchants over pricing

Military authorities arrested rice business executives, wholesalers, and warehouse staff in Yangon and other cities last Friday for alleged noncompliance with price controls, according to sources close to the detainees. The detainees included executives at rice companies as well as owners and employees of the Bayinnaung Warehouses in Yangon, their associates said. Among the dozen or so businessmen under investigation are Ye Min Aung, the executive chair of the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF), and Lu Maw Myint Maung, chair of the Bayinnaung Rice Warehouses. The MRF, a private sector association of rice producers and companies, is responsible for arranging exports of rice to China and other trade partners of Myanmar. Yangon locals queuing to buy rice in August 2022 (Myanmar Now) Myanmar Now tried to reach Ye Min Aung for comment at his mobile number, but his phone was powered off and not receiving calls. The MRF website stopped functioning on Friday. “It’s not just the company owners, there are other employees from the Bayinnaung and Wardan warehouses,” said a trader connected to the warehouses. “Everyone that sold refined rice at City Mart was arrested for not selling it at the set price. They even got their warehouses shut down,” a business owner told Myanmar Now. The detained businessmen are reportedly undergoing interrogation in two separate groups in Yangon and Naypyitaw, their associates said. The price range for a sack of Shwebo refined rice set by the military council in June was between 135,000 and 145,000 kyat (US $42 to $45), while the price range set for the same quantity of a less processed variety is between 70,000 and 70,800 kyat (US $22 to $24). Prices of rice at a shop seen in early May 2024 (Supplied) Rules allow for the retail sale of rice at 5 to 10 percent above the set price, and for the sale of rice at supermarkets and convenience stores at prices 10 to 20 percent higher. The set price ranges for rice went up again on Friday, with the maximum price for a sack of refined rice rising above 160,000, nearly three times greater than what it cost before the military coup of 2021.In a similar incident, the military junta arrested dozens of gold merchants and currency exchange business owners earlier this year, alleging that they were manipulating the market price of gold and exchange rate for American dollars.

Myanmar military regime arrests rice merchants over pricing

Authorities, who accused the businessmen and wholesalers of selling at prices above the maximum set by the regime, are reportedly holding the detainees in Yangon and Naypyitaw

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