Farmers say that new price controls set on their sales of rice to dealers for the upcoming monsoon harvest will, at best, only allow them to scrape by.
Costs, especially for fertilizer, have surged and yields are down due to flooding, farmers say.
The price controls were set by the set by the Myanmar Rice Federation last week by order of the junta, which had previously set minimum prices that allowed farmers to negotiate with dealers.
The federation announced the new price controls on purchases from farmers, saying the price would ensure appropriate profits for farmers, stabilize rice prices, and reduce the financial burden on consumers hit by surging food prices.
The reference prices depend on the variety and are set per 100 baskets. (The regime measures one basket at 21 kilograms, about 46.3 pounds, but on the market a basket weighs about 22-23kg.)
The reference price for the Eae Ma Hta and Nga Sein rice varieties is 1.3 million to 1.5 million kyats per 100 baskets, while the price for the Ayeyarwady Paw Hsan and Ayeyar Padetha varieties is 1.6 million to 1.8 million kyats, and the Shwebo Paw Hsan variety is priced at 1.8 million to 2 million kyats.
Members of the federation and rice merchants must adhere to the reference prices when buying from farmers, the announcement said.
A farmer in Yangon Region said that, based on these reference prices, he can only earn 700,000 kyats if an acre yields 50 baskets. “The cost was 500,000 kyats per acre, excluding labor costs. I borrowed money to grow paddy and I need to pay interest [on the loan]. So, I barely make a profit,” the farmer explained.
Over the past few months, market sales prices have risen above 2 million kyats per 100 baskets of rice, but this has not been reflected in payments to farmers. They say only traders are making money.
In response to the surge in prices, the regime previously set price controls.
A farmer from Ayeyarwady Region said: “Previously, [authorities] only set floor prices. The maximum prices were market rates. This year, we had to spend more on fertilizer and fuel. So, costs were higher. We only make small profits at their reference prices. The prices of food, which we have to buy with money from selling our paddy, are high.”
Heavy rains damaged rice fields and reduced yields in many parts of Myanmar this year, farmers reported.
“This year, the average cost was 700,000 to 800,000 kyats per acre. We thought some farms would yield 100 baskets per acre. But many rice plants were damaged by rain. So, the maximum output we guess will be no more than 80 baskets per acre,” added the farmer from Ayeyarwady Region.
A farmer from Yangon Region said: “Because of high prices, we could not use [enough] fertilizer in some farms, and the yield has subsequently declined. So, we can barely make a profit at the reference price.”
A junta-controlled committee to protect the rights of farmers set a floor price of 540,000 kyats for 100 baskets of rice for the monsoon harvest last year as well as the dry-season harvest this year, though farmers could negotiate prices at far higher levels.
In a further move to restrict the trade in rice, the regime has required that its officials and its consumer affairs department approve all transportation of rice out of every township where it is grown.
