Bijaya Dhwaj Thapa, deputy general manager of NFC, told myrepublica.com said they had to stop supplies after they used up the budget allocated for the purpose. “We don´t have funds to supply foods even in the districts facing acute shortage,” Thapa added. [break]
The government had allocated Rs 354 million as transport subsidy to deliver food grains to food deficit hilly districts.
Thapa said the government had sanctioned only Rs 200 million of Rs 530 million demanded by NFC as transportation subsidy to increase supplies to two dozen districts facing food shortage.
“We could supply only 144,000 quintals of rice, -- 131,000 quintals of which have already been supplied to concerned districts -- from Rs 550 million allocated by the government. We can´t supply more food unless the government releases additional budget,” he added.
NFC has demanded a total of Rs 880 million from the government to supply 220,000 quintals of food grains against the total demand of 300,000 quintals from the districts facing shortage.
Thapa said food shortage would further worsen in those districts amid uncertainty over the resumption of supplies due to budget crunch. “Humla, Mugu and Bajura do not have even 500 quintals of rice in stock. Stock in other districts is also not sufficient. Locals will face acute shortage in the rainy season if we failed to supply food on time,” Thapa said.
The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) had forwarded a proposal for additional budget allocation of Rs 530 million as transport subsidy to National Planning Commission (NPC). NPC has allocated only Rs 200 million so far.
Last year, the government had allocated Rs 610 million for the delivery of 193,000 quintals of food grains.
NFC planning to sell substandard edible oil
Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) is planning to sell 22,000 liters of expired edible mustard oil.
Bijaya Dhwaj Thapa, deputy general manager of NFC, said they were preparing to sell the oil by lowering price to Rs 84 per liter from Rs 112 per liter to speed up the sales in a bid to clear the stock at the earliest. Food technicians had told NFC in December that the oil should be consumed before March-end.
“We have sent the samples of oil to the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) to ascertain whether or not the oil can be consumed,” Thapa said. He said they would sell the oil for industrial purposes if it is not fit for human consumption.
However, Pramod Koirala, spokesperson at DFTQC, said they would not allow NFC to sell the oil if the test showed that it is unfit for consumption.
NFC had purchased 200,000 liters of mustard from the private sector to intervene the market in a bid to tame soaring prices.
prabhakar@myrepublica.com
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