Commodity prices in Arakan State have risen by 30-70% amid the ongoing third wave of Covid-19, according to businesspeople and merchants.

“During the third wave of Covid-19, commodity prices in Arakan State have risen sharply,” said U Khin Maung Gyi, chairman of the Rakhine Economic Initiative Public Co Ltd.

“In the first and second waves of coronavirus, commodity prices rose only 50%. Commodity prices are now up by as much as 70%.”

He added that rising commodity prices could cause hardship for people and said the government should institute price controls.

The prices of basic commodities such as rice, cooking oil, onions and seasoning powder are skyrocketing at present, said Ko Tun Tun Aye, a grocery store owner in Sittwe.

“Before the third wave of Covid-19, a 15-pound bag of seasoning powder cost just over K40,000. Now it has risen to over K70,000. Cooking oil used to cost around K22,000 for 10 litres, but now it has risen to over K30,000. Almost all commodity prices have gone up,” he told DMG.

Maung Tun Win, a resident of Sittwe, said the rising cost of basic foodstuffs made it difficult for common folk to make ends meet.

“We are daily wage workers. ... We have no regular income, so we are facing many livelihood hardships,” he said.

The first and second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic saw a total of 4,264 confirmed cases and 37 deaths in Arakan State, and the state’s economy contracted by an estimated 50%.

As of July 11, Arakan State had recorded a total of 853 Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths during the ongoing third wave.