Govt to import another 25,00 tonnes of sugar

KATHMANDU, AUG 27 -

The government is preparing to import another 25,000 tonnes of sugar to forestall a possible shortage. The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies will be writing to Ministry of Finance to allow the import at 1 percent customs duty.

In a bid to control price hikes and make sugar conveniently available during the coming festive season, Salt Trading Corporation and National Trading Limited have planned to import 20,000 tonnes of sugar. The Commerce Ministry said that there would not be any scarcity of sugar during the festive season and that the two government-owned companies would import extra stocks.

“We have received 7,000 tonnes of sugar so far and the rest will arrive before the Dashain festival,” said Lal Mani Joshi, secretary at the Commerce Ministry, addressing an interaction on rising prices of essential goods and vegetables.

Prices of essential goods including sugar, rice and edible oil have shot up in the last two months. Participants at the programme said that the retail price of sugar had jumped to Rs 90 per kg from Rs 75 two months ago. Likewise, the local market has witnessed a surge in the price of rice by over Rs 10 per kg despite surplus production in the last fiscal year.

Joshi said that the government would take strong action against rice traders if they have been engaged in hoarding. “We have sufficient stocks of rice, but it is difficult to find out where traders have hidden them,” he added.

Retailers said that they were in talks with the government to buy sugar and sell it with a nominal mark-up.

“If the government is really serious about market intervention, we are also ready to buy other products from the government and sell them at the government set price with a small profit margin,” said Pabitra Bajracharya, president of the Nepal Retailers’ Association.

He added that the main reason behind the recent price rise was under-invoicing, and that the government was doing nothing despite knowing everything.

After Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai directed the authorities concerned to bring down prices of essential commodities last week, the government is getting ready to start market monitoring to check illegal practices.

Traders participating in the interaction said that the government should inspect the market without creating havoc among the business community and clearly declaring the permitted maximum amount of stock.

Suresh Kumar Basnet, president of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC), said that the government’s monitoring teams should include a representative from the private sector to ensure cordial and effective inspection. “One-sided monitoring may create problems in supplies,” he added.

Source: The Kathmandu Post