Fuel shortage in crisis-hit Myanmar deepens daily hardship, raises food security concerns
Motorists are forced to queue up to six hours for fuel or pay more on the black market, while farmers lack fuel to operate machinery and harvest crops.
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YANGON: Rice harvesting in Myanmar, typically a crucial and busy period, is now fraught with uncertainty.
Farmers are racing against time to bring in crops before the monsoon season that typically starts in May.
But fuel shortages – driven by a mix of domestic constraints and global supply pressures, including tensions in the Middle East – have made it increasingly difficult for them to operate machinery.
“Many of the crops are now overdue for harvest. If the tide rises or the weather worsens, it will be even more devastating for us,” one farmer told CNA.
Even harvesting by hand offers little relief, they said, as fuel is needed to power threshing machines to separate grain from husk.
“How can we afford these prices? Even if we could afford them, the fuel isn't available. It's almost impossible to find. All the farms here face the same problem,” the farmer lamented.
“Those with money can use connections to get what they need, but farmers like us are the ones who suffer.”
The worsening fuel shortage is raising fresh concerns over food security in a country already strained by a coup that began in 2021, economic pressure and recent natural disasters.
Fuel prices have reportedly surged to around 12,000 kyat (about US$3) per litre on the black market – more than double the rates at official petrol stations.
The crisis is now rippling across both rural and urban areas, affecting farmers, workers and businesses alike.
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HARVEST SEASON UNDER THREAT
For many farmers, failing to harvest rice means more than just losing a season’s income.
Most rely on loans to finance the entire planting cycle, from fertiliser purchases to machinery rental and mulling. This means weak yields could lead to mounting debt.
Beyond farms, the impact is also hitting workers hard.
In parts of the Ayeyarwady Delta, a key rice-producing region in Myanmar, jobs have dried up as harvesting slows, leaving migrant farmhands who travelled there in search of work stranded.
“If we can't get any fuel, what can we do? We cannot do our job. If there's no fuel, we will just have to go back home,” one worker said.
Another worker said a food shortage is a “real possibility”, with the entire system at risk of coming to a standstill if diesel cannot reach the region.
Small-scale rice millers, used by farmers to process rice for their own consumption, are also struggling to stay open as fuel costs rise.
Years of mechanisation have further limited farmers’ options, as many no longer keep cattle or buffalo for manual fieldwork.
LONG QUEUES AT PETROL STATIONS
The fuel crisis is also taking a toll in cities, where daily life has become increasingly difficult.
In the country’s largest city Yangon, motorists now have to queue for up to six hours for fuel.
In some towns and cities, some petrol stations have reportedly run dry entirely, forcing many to turn to unofficial sources.
Fuel is believed to be entering the black market through two main channels: Motorists reselling subsidised fuel for profit, and misappropriation from allocated quotas.
Meanwhile in Mandalay, residents still recovering from a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake last year are facing renewed economic pressure.
"The main problem is the cost of living. We were already struggling after the earthquake with the added cost of repairing our homes. One year after the quake, businesses were starting to recover,” said a taxi driver in Mandalay.
“But now, with this fuel crisis, we are facing a huge struggle just to survive. Everything is connected – higher prices, shortage of goods and the lack of fuel,” he added.
Some fishermen have stopped working entirely, as fuel is either unavailable or too pricey to make going out to sea worthwhile.
One told CNA he could manage in the past when he worked for himself, but cannot earn enough to survive now that he is a daily wage worker.
FUEL RATIONING MEASURES
In a bid to manage shortages, authorities launched a fuel rationing programme last month, requiring motorists to queue to buy fuel on alternate days depending on whether their licence plates end in odd or even numbers.
The government said imports from Malaysia and Singapore have been secured and that existing supplies could last for 60 days.
Myanmar’s leader Min Aung Hlaing has also pledged support for the agricultural sector.
“Reducing poverty and improving the lives of farmers is our main priority. Most people in rural areas depend on farming and livestock,” he told parliament in his oath-taking speech as president on Apr 10.
“Since about 70 per cent of the population lives in rural areas, we will work to develop these regions and improve the lives of our farmers,” he added.
However, analysts say structural challenges remain.
"What makes it a little bit more difficult is we don’t have storage facilities like Malaysia and Singapore. (Myanmar) can’t buy a lot and store it for a while. (It has) to rely on week-to-week (imports) coming in,” noted Amara Thiha, non-resident fellow at American think-tank Stimson Center’s China Program.
The shortage could also influence the country’s ongoing conflict.
"The military, they only require jet fuel – that’s a very tiny portion compared to the whole country’s consumption. So, they have their own reserves; their capability on the air defence and air raids are not going to be impacted,” said Amara Thiha.
“But for the resistance forces, that’s going to be a huge blow. For example, those groups along the Thai-Myanmar border may not be able to smuggle (fuel) as easily as before. The Thai government is now strictly controlling everything,” he added.
From farms in the delta to city streets, the fuel crisis is tightening pressure across Myanmar.
If shortages persist, the risks extend beyond economic strain to potential disruptions in food supply – adding another layer of uncertainty for a country already grappling with multiple crises.
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