The government is all set to start effective market monitoring in all 75 districts with the festive season approaching. The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to correspond with all the District Administration Offices for this purpose.
According to government officials, the market monitoring will basically concentrate on controlling market prices, examining the quality of essential products and ensuring a smooth supply of essential goods. The ministry has also directed the Department of Commerce, the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control and the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology to carry out effective inspection as per their work areas.
Addressing an interaction on preparations for the festival season, Purushottam Ojha, secretary at the ministry, said that the government was ready to provide any type of support to control artificial price hikes and food adulteration and to make goods available easily. “There is a need to make quality essential commodities and services available at fair prices for the festivals,” he added.
The ministry has urged the concerned government entities to sell daily commodities such as rice, pulse, flour, ghee, milk products, sugar and edible oil at subsidized rates for a fixed period with a target on Dashain, Tihar and Chhath. Ojha also urged Salt Trading Corporations and National Trading Limited to sell sugar at a rate lower than the current retail price.
Salt Trading and National Trading have been making preparations to import 20,000 tonnes of sugar to maintain stocks for the festivals. Urmila Shrestha, managing director of Salt Trading, said that even though work on importing sugar had been delayed, they had adequate reserves. On Friday, Salt Trading, National Trading, Nepal Oil Corporation, Dairy Development Committee and Nepal Food Corporation had been invited to the Department of Commerce to discuss preparations for the festive season and their plans.
Four state-owned entities—Salt Trading, National Trading, Nepal Food Corporation, and Dairy Development Committee—are preparing to open an integrated bazaar for the upcoming festivals like they did last year. The bazaar will open from Sept 23 to sell daily commodities at fair prices.
This year, Nepal Food Corporation plans to sell goats from the Ring Road area besides its regional office at Thapathali. “We will buy some 6,000 goats from the Tarai and sell them from our outlet at Thapathali and from major locations on the Ring Road,” said Hari Narayan Chaudhari, managing director, adding that they would sell different types of rice at subsidized rates in Kathmandu and in the district headquarters of the hilly region.
Anil Thakur, director general of the Department of Commerce, said that opening of the integrated bazaar and temporary shops to be operated by government entities in the districts would help make essential goods available at fair prices. “In addition, we will strictly monitor the market to control any illegal activities in the market related to goods that are in high demand during the festivals,” he added.
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