Fair price shops begin sales

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 9: As per the government plan to provide relief by selling essential items at a discounted rate to the consumers during the festivals, fair price shops have come into operation across the country since Sunday.

The Food Management and Trading Company Limited (FMTC), Salt Trading Corporation (STC) and Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) have run the discounted shops through their offices, depots, and dealers in the capital and beyond.

Consumers can buy essential items at a discount from the fair price shops until the Chhath festival (November 19, this year).

The entities are selling essential goods, especially rice, pulses, lentils, ghee, oil, sugar, flour and salt, at discounted rates for one and a half months.

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Rijal officially inaugurated the fair price shop at FMTC’s outlet in Thapathali on Sunday.

While inaugurating the fair price shops, he urged the consumers to purchase the essential goods from the discounted shops inside and outside the Kathmandu Valley.

“The aim of the fair price shops is to provide quality goods at a discounted rate and control the artificial price hikes during the high demand season of daily essential food items in festivals,” he said.

He expressed his hope that the people would get maximum relief from the purchase of essential goods at a discounted rate and also help control artificial price hikes of goods by the private traders in the festivals.

He urged the public enterprises to run the shops smoothly throughout the festivals with the target of the government to provide relief to the general public.

Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Mukunda Prasad Niroula urged the public entities to expand their service area to reach more people.

He stressed the need for operating discounted shops by the FMTC and STC at other times to provide relief to the people and control artificial price hikes being imposed by private traders in the market.

There are a total of 35 sales outlets, including eight sales centres and three mobile shops, in Kathmandu Valley.

The convenience stores of STC and FMTC will be operated in 95 more places, including Kathmandu Valley.

The FMTC will run fair price shops in its 48 outlets of 42 districts and STC will also sell produces at discount rate from its more than 35 outlets across the country. 

Customers get discount from Rs. 2 to Rs. 50 per kg/litre 

In the fair price shops, there is a discount of Rs. 7 per kg on various varieties of rice, lentils, beaten rice, cooking oil, wheat flour, Rs. 2 per kg on salt and Rs. 10 per kilogram on Humla’s beans.

 Consumers can also purchase gram at a discount of Rs. 10 per kg from the fair price shops.

 The FMTC will sell live goats from its Thapathali depot at a discount of Rs. 10 per kg of live goat and mountain goat. 

Similarly, the DDC offers a discount of Rs. 20 per kg on ghee, Rs. 20 per 200 grams, Rs. 50 in per 500 grams of paneer and Rs. 10 per litre on curd from its outlets during the festivals.

There was no additional discount offered in the sale of sugar as the STC is selling a kilo of sugar at Rs. 97 per kg. The traders are selling a kg of sugar at up to Rs. 140 in the retail shops.

According to Mohan Prakash Chand, chief executive officer of FMTC, they were selling essential products from 48 places of 42 districts, including the Kathmandu Valley.

“Consumers can order essential goods online. We will deliver products without delivery charge as per the order on discounted rate to minimise the crowd of people,” he said. 

The FMTC will operate at least three mobile vans to supply essential goods and STC also will operate three mobile vans targeting the festivals, he said.