Sittwe, 12th June 03: The recent formation of a powerful Rice Control Committee in Burma has raised high concern among the rice growers in Rakhine State in the western part of Burma. The Committee, led by the General Secretary 2 of the State Peace and Development Council junta of Burma, is composed of Minister 1 of the Ministry of Industries, State Minister of Trade and Commerce, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, two representatives from the Association of the Owners of Business Houses, two representatives from the Merchants Association, and two representatives from the Rice Mill Owners Association, according to sources in the agricultural department. Considered as the central committee for control and manipulation of the dealings in rice including export, the newly formed Rice Control Committee has already been dubbed as the ?newer version of the old rice procurement committees? by the growers of rice in the state..."