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MORE THAN 60% OF THE TARGET OF THE PURCHASE OF RICE BY THE JUNTA COMPLETED IN RAKHINE STATE

Sittwe, 12^th February 02:  More than sixty percent of the target of forced purchase of rice from Rakhine State by the State Peace and Development Council junta of Myanmar has been completed, according to an unnamed senior manager from the State Agricultural Marketing Department who told it to our correspondent.

The junta have issued new orders for forcing the rice growers of Rakhine State to sell more rice than the regime's  2001  2002 purchase target.  During the present rice season (November  March), a total of 61.47% (157,400 tonnes) against the target (256,000 tonnes) of the purchase of rice has been realized from seventeen townships of Rakhine State, the western member of Myanmar till the 31^st of January this year.  

Two of  the seventeen townships in the south of the state, Thandwe and Goa have been reported to have fulfilled the target set by the SPDC junta for this season.  A total of 11,200 tonnes of rice was realized from Thandwe township, while a total of 4,800 tonnes was realized from Goa township.   The local township and village tract authorities have been directed afresh to realize rice in excess of the target already met. 

In the other townships strong directives have been issued to realize the full quota of the SPDC target and also to purchase rice in excess of the target set for this season, it was learnt.  The move has caused sharp increase of the price of rice even during this harvest season.  The market price of a tonne of rice in the open market is kyat 23,450 while the junta pays kyat 9,375 for the same.  Such exploitation and the repeated forced purchase of rice at a deliberately suppressed price by the SPDC junta every year has rendered the rice growers of Rakhine State the  most neglected and deprived, and the system remains a major cause of wide-scale poverty and a source of woe in the region.   Rakhine is one of the three regions in Myanmar where rice is the chief produce. #

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