Until recently, people from far-flung villages used to queue up at Kalikot-based NFC depot for weeks just to buy one or two kilos of rice. People would trek for a day or two to reach Kalikot and some less fortunate would have to return empty handed when the depot ran out of stock.
But of late, with the expansion of the road network in the district, no such queues are to be seen at Kalikot-based NFC. Consequently, sale of rice from NFC depot has also declined.
A few weeks ago, district NFC manager Anil Kumar Shrestha sent a letter to the central office requesting that the price of rice be reduced.
"There has been significant decline in the sale of NFC rice following the expansion of the road network in the district. So, we requested the central office to reduce price of rice so that we can compete in the local market," he said.
A quintal of rice at NFC depot would cost Rs 4050, according to Shrestha. But the the local traders were selling the same amount for Rs 4000.
Until a few months ago, the NFC depot would sell 30-40 quintals of rice per day. But now they sell 4-5 quintals a day.
According to NFC's Surkhet office, which supplies rice to districts in the Karnali zone, the Kalikot depot currently has 2,900 quintals of rice in stock.
Recently, the NFC head office in Kathmandu adjusted the price of rice in several districts of the midwestern region including Kalikot that have recently been connected with the road network.
Central spokesperson of NFC, Srimaniram Khanal, informed that the rice prices have been adjusted effective from December 29, 2015.
"Although NFC rice is costlier than those supplied by local businessmen, we received requests from our depots to reduce the prices," said Khanal. "So, we reduced the prices in the districts where sales have been affected. However, prices have not been adjusted in Jumla, Dolpa and Humla," he added.
He said rice prices have been reduced by up to 10 percent in five districts of the midwestern region.
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