Jul 13, Kathmandu: The price of rice has gone up by Rs 100 to Rs 110 per bag in the last week. In Nepal, rice is available from Rs 1,700 to Rs 1,900 per bag. As soon as rumors of an increase in rice prices in India spread, Nepali traders started increasing the stock of rice.

According to the Nepal Food Grocers and Wholesalers Association, the price of rice in Nepal has gone up by Rs 100 per bag in the last four to five days. Devendra Bhakta Shrestha, president of the association, claimed that Nepal was almost dependent on India for rice and that it was natural for India to increase the price by Rs 100 per kg as the price of rice in India has gone up by Rs 5 per kg.

When the price of rice in India increases by Rs 5 per kg in India, the same price of rice arrives in Nepal at Rs 100 is the minimum price, he said.

He said that there is no condition to store rice like other food grains, pulses, sugar, and oil in Nepal and it has increased in Nepal as soon as it grows in India. The Department of Commerce, Supplies, and Consumer Protection have directed the rice mills and industrialists and food wholesalers to submit the reasons for the rise in rice prices. The department has instructed to hold a discussion with the industrialists and traders on Tuesday and submit the reasons for the increase in the price of rice.

Director-General of the Department Lila Prasad Sharma has directed to submit the details including the bill proving the reason for the increase in rice price as soon as possible. Evidence is needed about the stock of rice in Nepal and when the price has gone up. He said that it would not be easy to say that it grew in Nepal after growing in India.

He also informed me that they have committed to submit the details within a day or two as the current stock of rice in Nepal is also being discussed. Director-General Sharma added that the price increase would be natural or unnatural only by looking at the details sent by the participants in the discussion.

Rice import

According to the statistics of the Customs Department, in the first 11 months of the current Fiscal Year 2077/78, rice worth Rs. Looking at these statistics, it seems that Nepal is dependent on rice. The Nepal Food Grocery and Wholesale Trade Association have been claiming that rice produced in Nepal does not meet 20-22 percent of the demand. Looking at the statistics of the customs department, it is seen that the claim of the federation is true to a large extent.

According to the data released by Nepal Rastra Bank, the annual point-wise consumer price inflation has reached 8.56 percent in May. Such inflation was 4.19 percent in the first 11 months of last year. In the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, food and beverages prices rose by 7.43 percent and non-food and services by 9.44 percent, according to the NRB's monthly report.