- Web Master
- September 27, 2024
Thinzar Nwe, Narinjara News, 4
October 2024
The cost of metal pots, which include steel and
zinc, has increased significantly since the beginning of the conflict to take
control of the towns in Arakan State.
According to local businesspeople, this has caused many
buyers to switch to more reasonably priced clay pots, which has resulted in a
resurgence of the pottery sector in comparison to prior years.
"We've had a great year
selling. Clay pots, which were once inexpensive, are now reasonably priced.
Even the clay pots that were previously unsold have been purchased. U Maung
Kyaw Myint, a potter from Tu Myaung Village in Kyauktaw Township, stated,
"I feel extremely relieved.”
With prices ranging
from 1,500 to 2,000 Kyats, clay cooking pots are becoming more and more popular
among consumers due to their huge cost savings over metal pots.
Potters also point out that cooking in clay pots improves the flavor and aroma of food, which is why they are chosen over metal ones.
Pottery manufacturers today report a
significant demand for clay cooking pots, clay ovens, drinking water pots, and
large storage pots, despite the fact that a range of clay pots were
traditionally made.
A hundred clay drinking water pots
used to cost between two and three hundred thousand Kyats. The cost has
reportedly increased to between 1.5 million and 1.8 million Kyats, according to
locals.
"I'm overjoyed
that sales of our pottery have resumed. I used to feel really miserable,"
a female potter from Tu Myaung village remarked.
There are more than 160
householdss in Tu Myaung village, and almost everyone who lives there makes
pottery as a living.
Large quantities of
the clay pots made in Tu Myaung village are sold to the Pauktaw, Mrauk-U,
Minbya, and Kyauktaw regions.
The townships of
Rathedaung, Sittwe, Kyauktaw, Minbya, Pauktaw, Myebon, Kyaukphyu, and Ramree
were formerly the main hubs of the Arakan pottery industry. But because of the
continuous fighting, a lot of these villages have stopped making pottery.
“The cost of zinc
cooking pots has gone up since the conflict started in 2023, and consumers are
now prepared to buy clay pots as soon as they are burnt. We used to deliver
clay pots to villages by boat, but that practice is no longer required,’ Ma Hla
Than Soe, a pottery maker from Kan Thar Village in Myebon Township, said,
“People came to buy them directly.”
Kan Thar village is
home to roughly 300 households, with pottery acting as their traditional
occupation.
With the exception of
the rainy season, the pottery-making season normally covers winter and summer.
The season for
creating new pottery will begin as Tazaungmon, the celebration that follows the
Thadingyut festival, draws near, and potters are hoping for competitive prices.