Myawaddy, September (17)
The Military Council hired civilians and asked them to collect fees at the checkpoints along the Kawkearei-Myawaddy in Karen State, the border traders told Than Lwin Times.
After the military coup, the Military Council expanded checkpoints along the Asia Highway, collecting money from trucks and passenger cars.
A border trader said that now that the military council is no longer collecting money themselves at the military gates, they hired civilians and asked them to collect money.
There are delays in travel due to the expansion of checkpoints on the Myawaddy Asia Road by the Military Council and the collection of money, along with roadblocks and inspections.
The military council charges 1,000 to 10,000 kyats per day depending on the type of vehicle, and hundreds of thousand kyats for cars with incomplete documents.
As a result of the military council’s foreign exchange restrictions, the Thai baht has risen, and Myawaddy-Thai border trade has almost stopped in August.
Currently, the exchange rate of Thai baht is 90 Myanmar Kyats, and trade has resumed, but the price of goods continues to rise.
Myanmar exports corn and agricultural products to Thailand through the Myawaddy border, and mainly imports basic food, medicine, cosmetics, consumer goods, and construction raw materials from Thailand.
News, Than Lwin Times
