Rising fuel oil prices drive up purified water costs

Following rocketing fuel oil prices, the price of 20-litre purified drinking water containers continued to rise in September, the market data indicated.
The 20-litre water container price increased by K200 over the past two months, Daw Yon from Lanmadaw Township, told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
The various brands of purified drinking water cost K800-1,500 per 20-litre container.
The purified drinking water production lines raised the price due to a lack of sufficient electric supply, the GNLM quoted U Arkar, as saying. It has been one year that the factories have been struggling with an electric shortage. Nonetheless, rotational load shedding has decreased these months compared with last year’s rotation blackouts. Yet, the price of water went up.
Similarly, the price of diesel used in generators dropped to K2,560 per litre on 15 September up from K3,245 per litre at the end of August 2022. The diesel price did not hit a record high in mid-2023. The lowest prices stood at K1,790 per litre on 7 August 2022 and K1,795 per litre on 4 May 2023.
As Kyat’s depreciation against the greenback hiked up the consumer price index, the institutions concerned have been making efforts to offer fairer prices for consumers starting from August. Nonetheless, the purified water container cost increased to K1,000 from K800 within two months.
The consumers have concerns over the possible price hike in the scorching summer. — TWA/EM