Amid the armed conflict following the 2021 coup, the rapid depreciation of Myanmar’s currency is destabilizing the economy.
Myanmar military authorities have arrested 11 people, including a Japanese executive, for selling rice at prices above prescribed levels.
Authorities said Monday that the detainees included traders, millers and rice retailers. The charges relate to selling rice at prices up to 70 percent higher than what is considered acceptable by authorities, who are facing deep economic instability amid ongoing conflict in the country.
Among the detainees was a Japanese executive whose arrest has caused friction with Tokyo. Hiroshi Kasamatsu, manager of Aeon Orange supermarket, was detained following an investigation into rice mills and supermarkets, the authorities’ information team said Sunday night.
Kasamatsu and three Burmese nationals were suspected of price gouging “with the aim of causing economic chaos.”
Turmoil
The poor Southeast Asian country has been gripped by unrest since the military took control in 2021 after ousting the elected civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
The move sparked widespread protests that turned violent and have since escalated into nationwide demonstrations. armed resistance. The conflict has forced more than three million people from their homes, according to the United Nations.
In early June, Burma arrested 35 people in a bid to crack down on gold and foreign exchange dealers, as well as agents selling real estate abroad, in a bid to stabilize a rapidly depreciating currency.
However, rice traders say the mismatch between the official exchange rate and black market rates poses significant problems.
The conflict has also disrupted rice planting, harvesting and transportation, analysts say.
This has allowed prices to more than double in recent months, according to traders. They claim that selling at the officially sanctioned price would cause them to operate at a loss.
However, state media blamed the El Nino weather phenomenon on market grabbers.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, confirmed to reporters that police in Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial capital, were questioning a Japanese national.
“The Japanese government intends to continue to take appropriate measures while urging local authorities to secure his early release,” he said, adding that the government was in contact with the Japanese citizen’s employer to offer its support.
