The handicraft industry, including tobacco pipe manufacturers in Ywalyut village in Mon State's Chaungsone Township, has stopped their businesses for lack of raw materials, the businessmen told Than Lwin Times.

The people of Chaungsone Township's Ywalut village produce a variety of handicrafts, including tobacco pipes using raw wood.

However, since the military coup, it has been impossible to get raw wood, making it tough to continue the business.

On October 18, small, and medium-sized (SMEs) businessmen in Mawlamyine presented to the military leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, the problem of wood raw materials, but to no avail, said a craftsman.

Due to a lack of wood raw materials, which are primarily utilized in handicrafts, as well as the epidemic and political instability, there are fewer tourists, making it impossible for businesses to move forward.

At present, because the handicraft businesses have been suspended, the workers have been working odd jobs, and there are only a few people who work in the handicraft business.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic until the military coup , production of numerous souvenirs and other household items, including smoking pipes made of raw wood, has been halted.

There are more than 20,000 handicraft and other businesses in the small and medium-sized (SMEs) sectors in Mon State, and there are hundreds of thousands of workers who depend on these businesses.

During the pandemic and military coup, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) have faced a variety of challenges in order to stay afloat.