“Golden Paddy, Piled like a Mountain; Bath with Oil, Warm with Herbal Plant Fire”
This song of songwriter Win Lwin (Aung Taw Mu), amongst Myanmar people who believe in past and omens, is a song covered by singers of consecutive generations from the past till today.
The song which narrates the abundance of agriculture-centered Myanmar is also often played amongst esteemed people who are highly obsessed with good omens.
However, the current situations of Myanmar today are absolutely the opposite of these lyrics. The fuel price which is going up every single day is becoming a huge dilemma amongst the people.
“Now, we’re changing to palm oil. We can make it with fish-paste sauce and boiled leaves to tip. We have to make the dishes for the kids,” said Ma Nway Nway.
A constantly increasing commodity price, especially due to the oil price, is causing Ma Nway Nway to change how the family dines.
Since the time of the military coup, the entire public including Ma Nway Nway is suffering from inflation, price rise predicament, the inability to easily access needed basic food items and medicines, and the difficulty of going to work.
Ma Nway Nway is a basic education school teacher and she has joined the CDM against the coup of the terrorist military since February of 2021.
Currently, as it’s hard to get a job and she is relying on her husband’s income, and it’s depressing whenever managing for the family’s everyday table, she said.
“Previously, a viss of sunflower oil, Sunar, was just over 4000 (Kyats). Now, even palm oil is over 9000 (Kyats) per viss,” she said.
Due to oil price rise, quality cooking oil can no longer be afforded and it’s being substituted with palm oil.
Even though people are changing to palm oil, the palm oil price is also wildly increasing.
Palm oil which was 3,000 Kyats per viss before the event of the coup is now around 10,000 Kyats per viss by August 2022.
Rising oil prices have also affected the food industry.
Ma Lay Pyay is one who is raising money by making foods for the revolution fund.
In addition to donating her income from her own business, she cooks the foods she can make, sells them and is supporting the revolutionary forces.
“The commodity prices have surged by about 40%. It’s worse because I only use peanut oil and sunflower oil for cooking. Peanut oil I use used to be 10,000 before and it’s 17,000 now – a 70% increase. As it’s a small business, not much could be put in store. When purchasing goods, it always shows a minus as I always meet with increasing prices. Now, I am on a 7 Lakhs debt.”
Due to the price surge in commodities, the food items are being sold at a higher price and oil used has been paused in some dishes, said Ma Lay Pyay.
“Sunflower oil can no longer be used for deep frying. I’m switching to vegetable oil. Peanut oil is still being used for plain mixing with foods. Roasts are only sold dry, without mixing with oil. So, it’s being reduced bit by bit.”
Ma Lay Pyay says she feels bad for her customers as she has switched to using a more reasonable, lower quality, vegetable oil in place of quality sunflower oil.
Plus, fewer customers are ordering from her due to financial reasons. No matter what, she says she will continue helping fellow citizens doing as much as she can.
As income creating is getting difficult with an imbalanced income and expense, the entire country is facing the terrible consequences of the coup which are shortage of goods and the exorbitant price rises. Among those affected, the grassroots are the most affected and they are suffering the worst consequences of increasing commodity prices, after the IDPs.
Surging commodity prices are an enormous problem for a retired teacher.
“For five of us, we are sticking on 2 liters of oil per month. It’s no longer oil-rich dishes. Just a bit of oil with water,” said Daw Thein Myint.
For the family with son, daughter-in-law and a niece, everything related to food is being reduced with the exception of rice.
Basic commodity prices have clearly gone up in a year and a half following the coup, from 2021 February to 2022 August, and fuel, oil and rice prices have been the most significant of all.
At the moment, with the supervision of the Myanmar Edible Oil Dealers’ Association (MEODA) which is under the military dictator, the edible oil public company limited and some privately-owned companies are seen distributing them by cars in some townships of Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw.
Until last month, edible oil was sold at 4000 Kyats per viss, but from August third week, it’s being retailed at 5000 Kyats per viss.
A large number of people are lining up for purchasing and it’s apportioned at only one and half visses per person.
Following the emergence of pictures on social media of crowds queuing for oil, there were comments that said we might end up buying rice and oil at the Cooperative spaces in a queuing system like in the 1990s.
The coup leader Min Aung Hlaing also said at a meeting on August 10 that the Cooperative markets would be enlarged.
Criticisms are having it that the reemergence of Cooperative markets which have always ended up in the country drowning in debts under consecutive dictatorships can have absolutely no benefit for the food industry. The instability of the financial market, control of imports in various ways and attempting to control the decreasing market by forceful means only means a harsher hit on the basic food market, an observer said.
“Even though it hasn’t been done in the food market, instances like arresting gold merchants and arresting if one possesses the dollar are badly destroying the market. Business functions with its own momentum; if it breaks at one spot, all will crumble,” the observer said.
“I don’t see any way the commodity price will drop and the economy will recover under the dictatorship,” he added.
With the badly deteriorating economy and skyrocketing commodity prices, the public under the military dictatorship are in a condition of injecting water into oil, let alone bathing with oil.
“We’re shooting up water into oil. After frying in order for it to smell good, we have to add more water. Like using paleka oil,” said Daw Thein Myint.