NEW DELHI, Feb 2: The Centre on Friday said it will sell ‘Bharat Rice’ in the retail market at Rs 29 per kg from next week to give relief to the common man and has also directed traders to disclose rice/paddy stock, as part of its efforts to control prices that have risen by around 15 per cent in the last one year.
In a press conference, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra exuded confidence that these two measures along with the various restrictions of exports will help in cooling down the prices.
Seeking to dispel market rumours, he categorically said the Government has no plans to lift restrictions on rice exports any time soon. The restrictions will continue until prices fall to a reasonable level.
“The first priority for the Government as of now is to ensure that rice prices are brought down,” Chopra said, while asserting that prices of all essential food items are under control except rice.
Prices of rice have risen by 14.5 per cent in retail and 15.5 per cent in the wholesale markets in the last one year, he added.
To control prices, Chopra said the Centre has decided to sell subsidised ‘Bharat Rice’ at Rs 29 per kg in the retail market through two cooperatives the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) as well as retail chain Kendriya Bhandar.
E-commerce platforms will also be roped in to sell Bharat Rice.
He said Bharat Rice will be available in the market from next week in 5kg and 10kg packs.
In the first phase, Chopra said the Government has allocated 5 lakh tonnes of rice for sale in the retail market.
The Government is already selling Bharat Atta at Rs 27.50 per kg and Bharat Dal (chana) at Rs 60 per kg.
“We are now issuing orders that all the entities that are stocking rice would need to disclose their stocks on the portal of the food department. So the retailers, the big chain retailers, the wholesalers and the processors would all be required to disclose their stocks on the portals. They would need to disclose stocks in categories such as broken rice, non-basmati rice, parboiled rice and basmati rice,” he said.
Chopra said this step will check hoarding of rice.
The secretary said the prices are going up despite the comfortable stock position of rice in the Government’s buffer stock as well as in the domestic market.
He said this step would ensure that “entities that are holding stocks for reasons best known to them are able to get this kind of a signal and release the stocks into the market which should cool down the prices.”
Chopra highlighted that the Government has taken various steps in terms of export regulations, including prohibition on shipments of non-basmati white rice and broken rice, 20 per cent export duty on parboiled rice and minimum export price of USD 950 per tonne for basmati rice. (PTI)
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