Commodity prices in Chin State’s Tedim Town are rising because the junta has blocked main road from Sagaing Region’s Kale Town to northern Chin State.
The road runs from Kale Town to Taingen Village in Tedim Township, but the junta has blockaded it at the Shu Khin Thar viewpoint near Kale Town.
A Tedim Town resident said: “The main issue is the road closures around Shu Khin Thar. There are alternative routes, but they’re in terrible condition, so the journey takes much longer than usual.
What used to be a one-day trip now often takes two or three days. Some parts of the dirt roads are covered in deep mud, and vehicles keep getting stuck. On top of that, transport costs have gone up. As a result, food prices have risen. Items like chicken and eggs are in short supply and only available from time to time. The price of rice is also going up.”
Previously, in Tedim Town, a bag of rice cost around 120,000 MMK, but it has now risen to between 150,000 and 180,000 MMK, depending on the variety. The price of a single egg has increased by 1,000 MMK, while a viss (about 1.6 kilograms) of chicken has gone up by 30,000 MMK. A viss of gayal meat, a type of beef, has also risen to 30,000 MMK, and pork has surged to 45,000 MMK per viss.
The junta blockade has reduced the number of large trucks reaching Tedim Town and residents of Tedim Town are now relying on goods brought in along alternative routes and goods transported from Kale Town in small batches using motorbikes.
Currently, the main alternative route for small vehicles and motorcycles between Tedim and Kale towns runs through Peinpi Village in Tedim Township. The main alternative route for large trucks is between the villages of Webula and Var in Chin State’s Falam Township.
Previously the Siyin Chinland Defence Force – Civic Defence Militia (CDF-CDM) also had a blockade on the the Kale to Taingen Road, which had helped contribute to price rises in Tedim Town, but it lifted that blockade on 17 July 2025, according to an announcement by the group.