U Than Oo, secretary of the Bayintnaung Wholesales Center, said all communication with their delivery trucks have been cut off, as such they have no choice but to halt trade.
“The rice delivered to the wholesales centre early in the morning has been sold. We reduced the prices by K500 a bag so there would be no leftovers. We were selling until 7am. The selling and buying at the wholesales centre stopped at 8am because we could no longer contact the incoming delivery trucks and we could not arrange for the cargo to be unloaded at the centre.” he said.
The secretary said rice merchants are currently observing the situation and awaiting further instructions.
“There is some temporary cut off in communication and ATMs are not operating. We don’t know if there will be a curfew or something else. We need to evaluate the price of rice in the local market as there are traders suspending their businesses. There is no rice arriving at the wholesales centre. There are also traffic jams on the roads,” said U Than Oo.
Reports on February 1 said supermarkets and other markets in Yangon were experiencing increased sales as people stocked up on food products and necessities during this time of uncertainty.
“Some retail shops have increased their prices but prices of (rice) has remained the same. There are more buyers today compared to previous days. We need to observe the situation,” said Daw Soe Soe, a housewife from Thingangyun township. – Translated
