Most food retail prices in July 2021 were found to be higher than in the same period in 2020. Retail prices of the cheapest variety of rice–by far the most important staple in Myanmar–have risen by 13 percent, on average. Relative to a year ago, national-level food price inflation in July 2021 stood at 7 percent. Food price inflation was relatively higher in rural versus urban areas and in the Dry Zone and the Coastal areas. Households in the poorest quintile faced much higher food price inflation (10.4 percent) than those in the richest quintile (4.3 percent) as rice and cooking oils, which prices have increased substantially over the last year, are relatively more important in the poor’s food basket. Over the last year, prices rose most rapidly in the first half of 2021; the cost of a food basket in July 2021 was 8 percent higher than in December 2020. Food availability is seemingly not a challenge at the national level in July 2021. Food vendors report that the availability of most commodities is comparable to the same period in a normal year. About three-quarters of food vendors indicate that customers are buying less animal-sourced foods (i.e., chicken and pork) compared to normal periods. This likely is an indication of reduced consumer income as well as higher prices for those products. COVID-19 prevention measures were widely practiced by market vendors in 2020. However, they had been abandoned by a substantial share of the vendors surveyed in May 2021. Adoption rates in July 2021 improved compared to the previous survey round in May 2021 but were still below 2020 levels.
You can view the full research note in English here.
Introduction
This Research Note presents the results from eight rounds of a telephone survey with food vendors conducted in rural and urban zones throughout Myanmar and focuses on the results from the latest round completed in July 2021. The purpose of the survey is to provide data and insights to interested stakeholders in order that they better understand the effects of shocks related to COVID-19 and the ongoing political crisis on Myanmar’s food markets. In particular, the note explores COVID-19 prevention measures, changes in shopping behavior, difficulties in food vendor operations due to the COVID-19 and political crises, changes in availability and prices of foods, and perceived changes in consumption.
Changes in prices and price inflation
While availability may not have significantly changed, changes in prices may indicate other signs of stress in the food marketing system. In a similar manner as for the availability questions, we asked food vendors to compare changes in prices at the time of the survey to similar periods in a normal year. Overall, a large share of food vendors report increases in the retail prices of most foods, with the largest share indicating increases for rice, chicken, pork, dried fish, and cooking oil.
Recent changes in retail prices of food products compared to normal periods, percentage of food vendors reporting, by food type
This blog post highlights one of the many recent surveys and research notes that MAPSA has conducted to assess the emerging constraints that key agricultural actors face and to mitigate the possible impacts of COVID-19 and recent disruptions on rural livelihoods and food security. Additional blog posts are available highlighting MAPSA’s research on the impact of disruptions on key actors in Myanmar’s agri-food system. Surveys are ongoing, and findings and recommendations will be periodically updated.
