Paddy farmers face loss due to new weight measuring system

December 9, 2024

HURFOM: Last year, a bucket of paddy rice was priced at 22,000 MMK, and in 2024, the price rose to 25,000 MMK per bucket. While consumers must pay more, paddy farmers won’t see a benefit because of a significant loss due to the new measuring weight system.

Previously, for farmers paddy rice prices were calculated by the bucket, but this year, paddy rice buyers must use a metric or imperial system to measure the weight of paddy rice.

“This year, they haven’t bought paddy rice per bucket. They just buy in kilograms (metric) or pounds (imperial). The new measuring system means a huge loss. We’ve lost at least four or five buckets of paddy rice in every 100 buckets,” said a local farmer from Ye Township.

The paddy rice has reached a good price in Mon State this year, but low productivity and high general production costs has meant that some farmers face a significant loss.

“Last year, the cost of a crop harvesting machine was 150,000 MMK per acre but this year, the cost has risen to 180,000 MMK. We paid 15,000 MMK / worker last year but this year the daily cost for a worker has risen to 25,000 MMK. We’ve farmed three acres of paddy rice this year but only three acres are productive,” said one farmer.

Mon State has nearly six million acres of rain paddy rice and produces more than 43 million buckets of paddy rice annually.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News