Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Salt Trading Corporation (STC) has doubled its quota to retailers to address the shortage of sugar in the market.
The state-owned trading company has begun distributing 20 sacks of sugar to retailers from Tuesday. Each sack contains 50 kg.
Brajesh Jha, the manager of STC, reported that over 450 retailers have received more than 5,000 sacks of sugar from the corporation. “Retailers in the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding districts can procure sugar from STC by presenting their firm registration documents,” he added.
According to Jha, STC has been selling sugar to retailers at the government-fixed rate of Rs 112.5.
Simultaneously, STC is offering sugar at a concessional rate of Rs 97 per kg to consumers through its fair price shops. Consumers can buy a maximum of two kilograms of sugar at the fair price shops. STC and different other state-owned companies are operating fair price shops on the occasion of Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals.
Nepal consumes around 35,000 tons of sugar during this festive season. However, the country faces a sugar shortage during these times due to a lack of forward planning by government agencies.
To address the situation, the government has granted a tax waiver for two state-owned trading companies, STC and the Food Management and Trading Company, to procure 10,000 tons of sugar each. Unfortunately, these companies have faced challenges in procurement due to India’s restrictions on imports.
