Sittwe, 1 October 2003: "The scarcity of rice has forced the officials to sell rice at a subsidized price in western Burma. To ease a famine-like condition in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State in western Burma, the Burmese junta officials have been forced to sell rice at a subsidized price. ?We get half a kilo of low-grade rice for each member of the family a day at a rate of kyat 150 a kilo, while the price in the market for the same is kyat 300,” said a nurse from Sittwe on phone..."