The junta’s blockade of Kachin State’s Hpakant Township, where most of the country’s jade mines are located, has caused shortages that have resulted in soaring food prices there.
Because of the junta blockades, the number of trucks reaching Hpakant Township has dramatically dropped resulting in a reduced supply of food which has driven up prices. Those few trucks that do manage to make it through the blockades face exorbitant tolls along the way that drive prices even higher.
Prices have been rising since late May 2025, when the junta stepped up military operations in Hpakant Township. Back then, in Hpakant Township, chicken cost about 60,000 MMK per viss (about 1.6kg). Now, it has risen to at least 100,000 MMK per viss, but it is not just the price of chicken that has soared.
A Hpakant Township resident said: “People aren’t rushing to buy things, even though there are shortages. Since prices are so high, most only buy what they really need. On average, a family’s daily expenses come to at least 100,000 MMK. And it’s not just chicken, everything is expensive. Before, the roads to Hpakant were damaged, so goods couldn’t come in easily and prices went up. Now, with the roads blocked, prices are climbing again. And there are heavy tolls along the way too.”
On 20 July, figures for the prices of foodstuffs and consumer goods in Hpakant Township started circulating on social media. As well as the price of chicken, the figures included the following: pork at 80,000 MMK per viss; potatoes at 8,000 MMK per viss; onions at 5,000 MMK per viss; garlic at 15,000 MMK per viss; Ngwe Toe brand rice at 165,000 MMK per bag; tomatoes at 20,000 MMK per viss; cooking oil at 26,000 MMK per viss and petrol at 9,200 MMK per litre.
When MNJ spoke to some Hpakant Township residents they confirmed these prices and said that in some cases the real prices were even higher.
Normally, prices in Hpakant Township are higher than in many other areas, but now they are a lot higher. For comparison, these are the approximate prices of the following in Yangon City, Myanmar’s commercial centre and largest City. Pork is 40,000 MMK a viss; Potatoes are 5,000 MMK a viss; onions are 3,000 MMK a viss, garlic is under 10,000 MMK a viss and petrol is 3,000 MMK a litre.
Highlighting the expensive price of a head of cabbage that would cost 3,000 MMK a head in Yangon City, a woman from Hpakant township said to KNG: “Prices are going up on everything. Even a head of cabbage costs around 20,000 MMK now. For big families, just the cost of food is a real burden. Prices were already rising before, but things got even worse when the trucks stopped coming in.”
In the first week of July there was also a shortage of rice in Hpakant Township because not enough trucks delivering rice could reach the township.
Junta troops entered Hpakant Township on 24 May 2025 and started military operations in the township that are still ongoing. There has been recent fighting in the township between the junta and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) supported by its ally the Kachin People’s Defence Force (PDF). The fighting has led to both the junta and the KIA coalition separately, on different occasions, blocking the road from the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina City to Hpakant Township.
