Traditional pottery business in Arakan State rebounds amid ongoing fighting

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.