Mawlamyine, March (12)
The military council’s efforts to reduce the consumption of imported fuel could lead to the growth of the black market and further increase in commodity prices, the economists and fuel suppliers told Than Lwin Times.
The second military leader, Vice Senior General, Soe Win, has said that the country needs to reduce the use of foreign currency at a time of rising global fuel prices and to reduce the import of fuel from abroad as much as possible to avoid the country’s high spending.
The fuel that will be used in the military council’s administrative process will also be thoroughly checked, the deputy military leader said at a financial meeting held in Nay Pyi Taw on March 9.
If we reduce fuel imports when we cannot import as much fuel as we need, the black market may emerge and prices may rise again due to the high cost of transportation, an economist said.
He stated that if the military council does not carefully review the present situation when considering reducing fuel imports, it may face a slew of additional issues due to high prices.
If the military council decides to reduce the import of fuel without considering the current situation, it may face consequences in addition to high prices, he said.
The military council’s attempt to reduce fuel imports from abroad may be due to the country’s significant decrease in foreign reserves as well as low export earnings.
In August last year, when the price of fuel was high, the military council announced that it would provide more than 200 million US dollars through the foreign currency market to ease the rise in the price of basic goods, but the price of fuel has not dropped significantly.
Under the previous NLD government, the price of gasoline in Myanmar was around 600 kyats per liter, but after the military coup, the price has increased more than four times, and price volatility occurs almost every day.
News-Than Lwin Times