Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: June 2020 - February 2023
We assess changes in food prices and purchasing power of casual wage laborers based on large-scale surveys of food vendors (fielded from June 2020 until February 2023) and households in rural and urban areas and in all state/regions of Myanmar. Key findings Over the full period (June 2020 - Februa...
| Autor principal: | |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Brief |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
International Food Policy Research Institute
2023
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140260 |
| _version_ | 1855517589650800640 |
|---|---|
| author | Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity |
| author_browse | Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity |
| author_facet | Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity |
| author_sort | Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | We assess changes in food prices and purchasing power of casual wage laborers based on large-scale surveys of food vendors (fielded from June 2020 until February 2023) and households in rural and urban areas and in all state/regions of Myanmar. Key findings Over the full period (June 2020 - February 2023), the cost of the healthy diet rose by 72 percent and the common diet by 82 percent. Prices for rice –the major staple– increased by 62 percent between March 2022 and February 2023. The costs of a common and healthy diet increased especially over the year 2022, by 50 and 51 percent respectively between Q1 of 2022 and Q4 of 2022. Diet costs increased more in rural areas compared to urban areas and more in the Dry Zone and coastal areas – which are more affected by conflicts – compared to the national average. The value of daily wages of construction and agricultural wage laborers relative to common and healthy diet costs declined by about 25 and 28 percent over the year 2022. Food costs are outpacing wages, making food increasingly unaffordable for wage earners who are among the most vulnerable household groups in Myanmar, particularly in rural areas. Recommended actions Food should be available at low costs to avoid food insecurity and nutrition problems in the country; assuring a well-functioning agri-food system should therefore be a priority for all stakeholders. Casual wage workers are among the poorest and their situation is worsening. They should therefore be targeted in social safety net programs. It is important to closely monitor food prices and the wages of the poor - they are good proxies for purchasing power and welfare and can be measured at high frequency. |
| format | Brief |
| id | CGSpace140260 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1402602025-11-06T05:28:12Z Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: June 2020 - February 2023 Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity households urban areas rice labour nutrition casual labour food prices diet remuneration rural areas food insecurity We assess changes in food prices and purchasing power of casual wage laborers based on large-scale surveys of food vendors (fielded from June 2020 until February 2023) and households in rural and urban areas and in all state/regions of Myanmar. Key findings Over the full period (June 2020 - February 2023), the cost of the healthy diet rose by 72 percent and the common diet by 82 percent. Prices for rice –the major staple– increased by 62 percent between March 2022 and February 2023. The costs of a common and healthy diet increased especially over the year 2022, by 50 and 51 percent respectively between Q1 of 2022 and Q4 of 2022. Diet costs increased more in rural areas compared to urban areas and more in the Dry Zone and coastal areas – which are more affected by conflicts – compared to the national average. The value of daily wages of construction and agricultural wage laborers relative to common and healthy diet costs declined by about 25 and 28 percent over the year 2022. Food costs are outpacing wages, making food increasingly unaffordable for wage earners who are among the most vulnerable household groups in Myanmar, particularly in rural areas. Recommended actions Food should be available at low costs to avoid food insecurity and nutrition problems in the country; assuring a well-functioning agri-food system should therefore be a priority for all stakeholders. Casual wage workers are among the poorest and their situation is worsening. They should therefore be targeted in social safety net programs. It is important to closely monitor food prices and the wages of the poor - they are good proxies for purchasing power and welfare and can be measured at high frequency. 2023-04-18 2024-03-14T12:09:11Z 2024-03-14T12:09:11Z Brief https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140260 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity (MAPSA). 2023. Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: June 2020 - February 2023. Myanmar SSP Research Note 92. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136678. |
| spellingShingle | households urban areas rice labour nutrition casual labour food prices diet remuneration rural areas food insecurity Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: June 2020 - February 2023 |
| title | Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: June 2020 - February 2023 |
| title_full | Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: June 2020 - February 2023 |
| title_fullStr | Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: June 2020 - February 2023 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: June 2020 - February 2023 |
| title_short | Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: June 2020 - February 2023 |
| title_sort | monitoring the agri food system in myanmar the rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers june 2020 february 2023 |
| topic | households urban areas rice labour nutrition casual labour food prices diet remuneration rural areas food insecurity |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140260 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT myanmaragriculturepolicysupportactivity monitoringtheagrifoodsysteminmyanmartherisingcostsofdietsanddecliningpurchasingpowerofcasualwagelaborersjune2020february2023 |