FMTC Nepalgunj purchases paddy worth over Rs. 90 million

BY GAJENDRA GURUNG,Khajura, Dec. 17: The Food Management and Trade Company Limited Branch Office in Nepalgunj has purchased paddy worth more than Rs. 90 million from farmers in Banke.

Senior Assistant and Information Officer Shivaraj Ghimire informed that the office had purchased 27,792.44 quintals of rice worth Rs. 97,723,249 from November 5 to December 15. This included 4,213.34 quintals of coarse rice and 23,279.10 quintals of medium quality rice. He said that the coarse rice was purchased for Rs. 14,369,638 and the medium quality rice for Rs. 83,353,611. 

He informed that 673 farmers had registered their recommendations through local bodies to sell their rice. Of those, 482 farmers have sold their rice. Additionally, rice has also been purchased through four cooperatives. 

The government has set the minimum support price for coarse rice at Rs. 3,410 per quintal and for medium quality rice at Rs. 3,580.62 per quintal. Ghimire said that the office had been purchasing rice at the same rate. 

The Nepalgunj office started purchasing rice 15 days earlier than last year and had set a target to buy 40,000 quintals this year. However, with an increased number of farmers selling medium quality rice, the company, in coordination with the central office, decided to purchase an additional 15,000 quintals of medium quality rice, increasing the target to 55,000 quintals.

Ramsharan Lamichhane, head of the Nepalgunj branch office, said that they had initially aimed to buy 30,000 quintals of coarse rice and 10,000 quintals of medium quality rice, but later, the target was adjusted to 55,000 quintals, including the additional 15,000 quintals of medium quality rice. 

According to Lamichhane, farmers in Banke have recently shown more interest in producing medium quality rice rather than coarse rice. Last year, the Nepalgunj office had set a target of purchasing 51,000 quintals of rice but ended up purchasing only 8,000 quintals.

This year, with an increase in the minimum support price and the early start of rice purchases, the office is hopeful that it will meet its target, he added.