Chances of sugar shortage to last till Tihar

Kathmandu: There are chances of a sugar shortage in the market to last till Tihar. However, a black marketing of sugar was also reported in Dashain.

Currently, sugar is being transported in stealthy ways. Sugar is being sold within a price range of Rs. 50 to Rs. 160 per kg. However, sugar is scarce in retail stores.

The government has been selling 70 tons of sugar to the customers. One customer can purchase 2 kilos of sugar at a time. The government made sugar available from the domestic market in collaboration with Salt Trade Corporation, Customers are still not able to have access to sugar despite paying Rs. 150 for one kg of sugar.

Likewise, the Government decided to purchase 10 thousand metric tons of sugar through the Salt Trade Corporation and 10 thousand metric tons through the Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) by clearing customs charges. However, the 20-ton sugar purchasing process failed. Hence, there might be a shortage of sugar even in Tihar.

According to Gajendra Kumar Thakur, Head of the Supply Division of the Ministry of Commerce and Supply, the supply of sugar from the Ministry is not possible until an initiative is taken from a high level of the government.