Govt claims smooth supply during festivals
KATHMANDU:
There will not food shortage during festival season that starts from early next month, according to government and traders.
All parties – the government authorities, businessmen and consumer rights activists – believed that supply of essential consumer goods will go smooth in festival season, if the black marketeers remained inactive during those days, which is less likely.
“Food grain stock of Kathmandu Valley lasts for one-and-a-half to two month, so there will not be food shortage,” said president of Retailers’ Association of Nepal Pabitra Bajracharya.
“However, current trend of food supply should be maintained in the festive season, Dashain and Tihar too,” he said, adding that the government should control black marketing – hoarding, syndicate and cartelling – for a smooth demand-based supply system in the market.
About 50 per cent of food items — rice, pulses, sugar, edible oil and others — enter the country through ‘illegal channels’. “Any disturbance in the trade can cause food scarcity at any time,” he said, adding that the country had good crops last year but that is not enough to meet the domestic demand.
According to Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the country has witnessed 9.87 per cent growth in cereal production in 2010-11 from 7.76 million metric tonnes to 8.61 metric tonnes. But the production is not sufficient to feed about 30 million people, so unofficial import from India is bridging the gap between supply and demand.
The third Nepal Living Standard Survey published recently also pointed the short supply that has resulted in inadequate food intake. According to the survey, about 15.7 per cent of population is not consuming food at the level they have to consume. However, the rate is gradually reducing in last one-and-a-half decade from 50.9 per cent in 1995-96 and 31.2 per cent in 2003-04.
Officials of the Department of Commerce, who is monitoring market under consumer protection law, also believed that there will not be food shortage and skyrocketing price hike during the festive season. “Market trend shows that there will not be food shortage during Dashain and Tihar this year,” said director general of the department Anil Kumar Thakur.
According to him, shortage and price hike starts from late May in the country but there is no report of shortage and artificial price hike till date. “We have a sufficient stock of food grains for this year,” he said, adding that the departyment is not expecting any significant price hike or shortage.
However, he could not produce real demand and supply situation of the country. “We don’t have the data that it is an urgent need for better market monitoring,” he accepted. The department is monitoring markets and publishing reference price of essential goods on the basis of unscientific data collected from the markets.
“ Therefore, the monitoring has been ineffective to control market irregularities and even the price-list — a mendatory provision of Consumer Rights Protection Act — could not be enforced in the capital,” he added.
Consumer rights activist Ram Chandra Simkhada echoed Bajracharya and Thakur but feared the price of edible oil, sugar and meat might go up during the festive season. “Thanks to good weather last year, we have sufficient food grains but we largely depend on import of edible oil, sugar and meat,” he said. “The government should manage adequate supply of the items.”
Generally, consumption of edible oil, sugar and meat jumps more than five times during Dashain and Tihar. According to Ministry of Cooperatives, meat consumption during the period jumps from 28 gram to 212 gram per day.
Sugar import
The government is importing 20,000 metric tonnes (MT) of sugar from India to fulfill the increased demand during the festivals. Ministry of Commerce and Supply has decided to import 20,000 MT sugar this year through the state entity, said director general of the department Anil Kumar Thakur. “Salt Trading Corporation, Nepal Food Corporation and National Trading Corporation are importing the sugar exempting the customs duty.
Currently, the three state entities have a stock of over 10,000 MT of sugar.
Source: THT
There will not food shortage during festival season that starts from early next month, according to government and traders.
All parties – the government authorities, businessmen and consumer rights activists – believed that supply of essential consumer goods will go smooth in festival season, if the black marketeers remained inactive during those days, which is less likely.
“Food grain stock of Kathmandu Valley lasts for one-and-a-half to two month, so there will not be food shortage,” said president of Retailers’ Association of Nepal Pabitra Bajracharya.
“However, current trend of food supply should be maintained in the festive season, Dashain and Tihar too,” he said, adding that the government should control black marketing – hoarding, syndicate and cartelling – for a smooth demand-based supply system in the market.
About 50 per cent of food items — rice, pulses, sugar, edible oil and others — enter the country through ‘illegal channels’. “Any disturbance in the trade can cause food scarcity at any time,” he said, adding that the country had good crops last year but that is not enough to meet the domestic demand.
According to Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the country has witnessed 9.87 per cent growth in cereal production in 2010-11 from 7.76 million metric tonnes to 8.61 metric tonnes. But the production is not sufficient to feed about 30 million people, so unofficial import from India is bridging the gap between supply and demand.
The third Nepal Living Standard Survey published recently also pointed the short supply that has resulted in inadequate food intake. According to the survey, about 15.7 per cent of population is not consuming food at the level they have to consume. However, the rate is gradually reducing in last one-and-a-half decade from 50.9 per cent in 1995-96 and 31.2 per cent in 2003-04.
Officials of the Department of Commerce, who is monitoring market under consumer protection law, also believed that there will not be food shortage and skyrocketing price hike during the festive season. “Market trend shows that there will not be food shortage during Dashain and Tihar this year,” said director general of the department Anil Kumar Thakur.
According to him, shortage and price hike starts from late May in the country but there is no report of shortage and artificial price hike till date. “We have a sufficient stock of food grains for this year,” he said, adding that the departyment is not expecting any significant price hike or shortage.
However, he could not produce real demand and supply situation of the country. “We don’t have the data that it is an urgent need for better market monitoring,” he accepted. The department is monitoring markets and publishing reference price of essential goods on the basis of unscientific data collected from the markets.
“ Therefore, the monitoring has been ineffective to control market irregularities and even the price-list — a mendatory provision of Consumer Rights Protection Act — could not be enforced in the capital,” he added.
Consumer rights activist Ram Chandra Simkhada echoed Bajracharya and Thakur but feared the price of edible oil, sugar and meat might go up during the festive season. “Thanks to good weather last year, we have sufficient food grains but we largely depend on import of edible oil, sugar and meat,” he said. “The government should manage adequate supply of the items.”
Generally, consumption of edible oil, sugar and meat jumps more than five times during Dashain and Tihar. According to Ministry of Cooperatives, meat consumption during the period jumps from 28 gram to 212 gram per day.
Sugar import
The government is importing 20,000 metric tonnes (MT) of sugar from India to fulfill the increased demand during the festivals. Ministry of Commerce and Supply has decided to import 20,000 MT sugar this year through the state entity, said director general of the department Anil Kumar Thakur. “Salt Trading Corporation, Nepal Food Corporation and National Trading Corporation are importing the sugar exempting the customs duty.
Currently, the three state entities have a stock of over 10,000 MT of sugar.
Source: THT
