Kathmandu, July 31
The government has concluded that Nepal’s food supply system may be disrupted after India put a ban on exporting non-basmati rice.
The Central Monitoring Committee meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Baikuntha Aryal on Sunday concluded that food prices might increase resulting in shortages. The meeting has decided to come up with plans to ensure that does not happen.
Nepal imports around 200 million kilograms of rice from India every year.
The government has alerted the relevant ministries to assess the risk of rice shortage and move forward.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply have been given the responsibility to ensure that there is no rice shortage.
“We will work with the private sector to ensure all warehouses are full. We are trying to stockpile so there is no shortage,” said a source at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply.
The two ministries will also conduct joint monitoring. During the monitoring, the ministry will also keep stock of the food times in different warehouses.
