ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By Narinjara | Burmese military authorities auctioned off a tender on Wednesday to private rice traders in 17 townships in Arakan State to buy rice from Arakanese farmers for the 2009 - 2010 army rations at the Western Command headquarters in Ann Town.

According to a local township authority, the army authorities invited a township level officer, two rice traders, and delegations from the rice mill association from each township in Arakan State to attend the auction on Wednesday.

The auction was held under Deputy Western Command Commander Major General Tin Hlaing at a hall in the Western Command compound.

Tin Hlaing offered traders the right to buy rice from Arakanese farmers for army rations in the 2009 - 2010 paddy season in order to fulfill the army's target of over 1,000,000 tinns of rice.

Army officials instructed the traders to buy rice from ten major rice producing townships in Arakan State at a volume of 15,000 tinns per township. The army authority will then purchase the rice at the local market rate, but did not offer any details about what the local market rate actually would be.

The Burmese army in Arakan State also purchased rice last year for army rations, but some townships were unable to fulfill the army's target volume. At the time, the army forced Arakanese farmers to sell their rice to the government.

According to a local source, many army officials from Western Command went to Pauktaw Township last year to pressure farmers in the township to sell rice to traders who were also given the right by auction to purchase rice for the army.