Ma Mya Than, 58 years old, is a middle class Rakhine (Arakanese) lady who lives in Buthidaung, a town in northern Rakhine. She used to sell various varieties of rice. Rakhine, situated on the western coast of Myanmar, is rich with natural resources including fish, timber, oil and gas. According to her, although Rakhine exported many acres of rice under Burmese Socialist Programme Party for years, there were around five types of rice that farmers in Rakhine mainly grew. They were “Ae Ma Hta”, “Phar John”, “Pout Tuu”, “Paw San Hmway” and “Kout Nyin”. In Rakhine, the rice was generally distinguished into two groups as rice grown on the highlands (Ma Own Myaing, Kout Nyin) and rice grown on fields (Phar John, Paw San Hmway, Ae Ma Hta).