Money
NFC buys 106 tonnes of beans, buckwheat
Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has bought 106 tonnes of beans and buckwheat from farmers in the Karnali region even though it has 60 tonnes of unsold legumes in its warehouses.Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has bought 106 tonnes of beans and buckwheat from farmers in the Karnali region even though it has 60 tonnes of unsold legumes in its warehouses.
NFC said stocks started piling up as it was unable to sell them due to lack of coordination with Salt Trading Corporation (STC), another state-owned company.
The latest batch was procured from farmers in Kalikot, Mugu, Humla and Jumla districts. The corporation has been buying beans and grains from these remote districts to ensure that farmers have a market for their crops. NFC spokesperson Shankar Sapkota said the corporation bought 76.5 tonnes of beans and 29.5 tonnes of buckwheat from the four districts.
“We had planned to buy more, but we were prevented from reaching the farmers due to lack of roads,” said Sapkota. NFC has stored the products at its depot in Surkhet. It has spent Rs25 million to buy 113 tonnes of beans and buckwheat in the last few months.
NFC has accused STC of not taking interest in selling them. STC pledged to sell the remaining stocks during a meeting held at the Supplies Ministry.
According to NFC, STC has sold only 12 tonnes of beans which were delivered between mid-March and mid-April. “STC has not sold any since then citing processing and packaging problems.”
However, STC said it was unable to sell the products at the rates fixed by NFC due to the extra costs of transporting and packaging. “We have to ship the products from Kathmandu to our outlets across the country, which adds to ours costs,” said STC Chief Executive Officer Urmila Shrestha. NFC has fixed the price of beans and buckwheat at Rs200 per kg and Rs120 per kg respectively at its depot in Thapathali, Kathmandu.
According to Shrestha, the corporation has planned to sell the products through its outlets in Narayanghat and Banepa too. “This means increased expenses for transport and packaging,” Shrestha said. “We have begun talks with NFC to buy the remaining inventory.”