Money
Paddy flour price hiked to Rs2,100 per quintal
State-owned Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has raised the flour price for paddy as farmers have shown no interest in selling their harvests at the rate fixed by the government.State-owned Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has raised the flour price for paddy as farmers have shown no interest in selling their harvests at the rate fixed by the government.
The flour price has been ramped up by Rs150 per quintal to Rs2,100 in Kailali district. Prices will be similarly raised in a number of other locations, according to NFC.
The flour price is a guarantee by the government that it will buy paddy from farmers at that price regardless of market fluctuations. It is designed to protect farmers from losses should prices fall.
NFC said it had to raise prices as farmers were unwilling to sell their products to the corporation because traders were offering much better rates. “As traders have been offering up to Rs100 per quintal more compared to the price offered by NFC, many farmers have been selling their harvests to them,” said Shankar Sapkota, spokesperson for NFC.
The corporation has planned to buy 40,000 tonnes of paddy to replenish its buffer stock. It has targeted to buy paddy from farmers in Mahendranagar, Dhangadhi, Rajapur, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Birgunj, Janakpur, Lahan, Biratnagar and Birtamod. Last year, NFC bought 15,000 tonnes of paddy from local farmers.
NFC has fixed the flour price of Mota rice at Rs1,950 per quintal, Makwanpure rice at Rs2,200 per quintal and Madhyam rice at Rs2,250 per quintal. However, traders have been paying farmers Rs2,050-2,350 per quintal for these rice varieties.
According to the corporation, it has bought 500 tonnes of paddy out of the 7,500 tonnes it has planned to buy from farmers in Kailali during the current fiscal year.
Sapkota said the corporation was preparing to revise the price of paddy in Bardia. NFC has bought only 21.3 tonnes of paddy from farmers in the district so far. It has planned to buy 5,000 tonnes this year.
As per NFC, farmers in Banke district were happy with the flour price it had fixed. Sapkota said the corporation had bought 26.1 tonnes of paddy at Rs2,050 per quintal in Banke district.
NFC has fixed the flour price for paddy with assistance from a local committee headed by the chief district officer of the respective district. Sapkota said they would revise paddy prices in other places in accordance with the demand of farmers.