Myanmar Executives Arrested for Inflating Rice Prices Amid Economic Turmoil

Four executives from Myanmar's supermarket chains, including one from a Japanese joint venture, were detained for selling rice at inflated prices as the country grapples with an unstable economy. The arrests included 11 people in total, amidst government efforts to curb price hikes and stabilize the deteriorating economic conditions.

Four executives from supermarket chains in Myanmar, including a Japanese joint venture official, were arrested for selling rice at inflated prices, state media said on Monday, as the war-torn country's ruling junta struggles to stabilise a spiralling economy.

Authorities said they arrested 11 people, including rice traders and officials from rice mills and rice retailers, accusing them of inflating prices by 31%-70% from prescribed levels, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper. In Tokyo, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that a Japanese national is being questioned by police in Myanmar's commercial capital Yangon.

"The Japanese government intends to continue taking appropriate steps including maintaining contact with the company the Japanese citizen works for and offering necessary support, while urging local authorities for his early release," he said. The junta-run Myanmar newspaper said those arrested included an executive from supermarket chain Aeon Orange, a joint venture between Japan's Aeon Co and Yangon-based Creation Myanmar. A junta spokesman did not respond to a call seeking comment.

The impoverished Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since a February 2021 coup when the military deposed an elected civilian government, sparking widespread protests that have morphed into an nationwide armed resistance. Amid escalating violence, poverty in Myanmar is more widespread than at any time in the last six years and labour shortages and a depreciating currency have made it harder to do business, according to the World Bank.

Last month, the junta arrested at least 35 people, cracking down on gold and foreign exchange traders and agents selling foreign real estate as part of efforts to stabilise its rapidly depreciating currency.