By Khit Min Ko/ MPA
It is known that the price of gold and dollars in Yangon is the highest in the black trading market at 2,600 to 3,000 kyats per dollar without official trading.
Although the terrorist SAC has announced that the dollar can be legally purchased by those who have an import license with the approval of the central bank, in practice, the businessmen said that they cannot buy as much as they need from the banks.
“The military council is closing down the channels of dollars through the Bureau of Special Investigation department – Sa Thone Lone. At the moment, I have to buy it illegally.”, an importer of household appliances said.
Yangon City imports more than 90 per cent of Myanmar’s imports annually, said a local expert from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“In the past, annual economic reports could be studied in collaboration with government departments. Right now, it is very difficult to study exactly. The SAC also closed the dollar so that you can’t hold it in your hand, and the black market become different prices.,” the local expert added.
Demand for imports is driving up general commodity prices, increasing income insufficiency and food shortages.
The terrorist SAC has not resolved the need for dollars for imports, and the terrorist SAC has ordered the gold industry to set a fixed price of 2160,000 kyats for one tical (1 tical=16.606gram) of 24 Karat Gold with a Sa Thone Lone instruction on the price of gold.
“There is no one who can sell if they actually go to buy at the price set by the military council. If you want to make gold items, you have to buy from each other. The price is not stable, people are buying and selling as they like,” said a gold shop owner from Yangon.
At present, most importers are facing the problem of not having enough dollars to pay abroad due to the war council’s import reduction policy.
Most of the goods, including fuel oil, palm oil and medicine and cosmetics, are imported from abroad, so the price has increased by more than twenty per cent.
Although the terrorist SAC leader Min Aung Hlaing said that he will work to restore the economy within six months, businessmen predict that it will not be possible in practice.
According to the World Bank, Myanmar’s economic situation has decreased by eighteen per cent compared to the previous years.
Although the demand for imports has been reduced, the shortage of currency may face additional problems due to rising prices.