The early onset of this year’s rainy season has worsened the condition of roads between India and Arakan (Rakhine) State and has led to goods being transported on them becoming damaged.
These roads, which are used primarily to transport goods between India and Arakan State, are prone to landslides and runoff during the rainy season, which can cause damage and loss of transported goods.
In early June 2025, landslides and floods halted trucks en route to Arakan State, causing delays and spoilage of food products.
A trader from Arakan State who moves goods between India and Arakan State said: “There’ve been cases where landslides blocked the roads and food items got swept away by runoff. We need to be especially careful about these things at the start of the rainy season. There’ve even been times when cargo stacked along riverbanks got washed away.”
But the rain does not just create dangers on land transport routes in the state, it can also make river transport riskier.
On 10 May 2025, several traders were killed when strong currents in the Kaladan River caused ten cargo vessels to capsize while traveling from Paletwa Township in Chin State to Arakan State.
That section of the Kaladan River is part of a trade route for transporting goods from India to Arakan State. They go from India by road to Paletwa in Chin State and then on by boat down the Kaladan River to Arakan State.
Due to the heavy rains and and increasingly difficult transportation conditions, many Arakan traders have reduced the amount of trade they do with India since the beginning of the rainy season, which came several weeks earlier than normal this year.
In particular they have reduced the amount of food they transport into Arakan State as delays, flooding and heavy rain can lead to it spoiling. Instead, they are currently concentrating on trading fuel and longer-lasting durable goods with India.
This reduction of food imports into Arakan State has caused food prices to rise there.
“Most traders right now don’t want to take the risk because they can’t afford to lose their food cargo anymore. They’re cutting back on trade because they’re worried about their goods getting wet or damaged, and about roads being blocked,” said another Arakan State based trader.
“When food supplies coming in run low, prices go up. In the end, it’s the people who suffer the most,” he added.
Since fighting resumed in Arakan State in November 2023, the junta has severely restricted nearly all trade routes connecting the region to the rest of Myanmar. This has forced Arakan State to rely heavily on trade with Saw Township in Magway Region and Mizoram State in India.
