NAFED to sell Bharat brand rice in 5-kg and 10-kg packs soon
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) will soon begin selling rice in 5-kg and 10kg packs under the Bharat brand. This too will be an eªort to reduce the prices of rice in the open market.
The best quality rice is being sold for ₹75-₹80 per kg in the open market and at even ₹90 per kg online. NAFED will sell both boiled and raw rice at ₹29 per kg through this initiative.
Koyambedu Wholesale Food Grains Merchant Association’s R. Punnaiappan said retail prices were quite high despite a reduction in wholesale prices. “Raw rice prices are higher than that of boiled rice. In retail, they cannot reduce prices like in wholesale due to the presence of old stock. We hear that paddy was being sent by road to neighbouring countries, and there is a shortage of new crop.”
So far, the Central agency has been selling wheat £our and chana dal to help control the prices of these commodities. Wheat comes in 10-kg bags and 1 kg of £our is priced at ₹27.50. “Since customers are asking for 5-kg bags, NAFED has planned to bring out 5-kg bags soon,” said a source in the federation. It has sold 1,900 tonnes of chana dal or kadalai paruppu at ₹60 per kg so far.
At present, these items are sold on small autorickshaws and vans at railway stations and bus termini.
People can also buy these at Kendriya Bhandar stores.
In some areas, farmerproducers organisations have also been roped in to sell the Bharat brand items.
Consumer activist T. Sadagopan wanted to know how old this rice would be and the age of the dal being sold.
“As these are packed commodities, consumers have a right to know the complete details about the items. NAFED could also sell diªerent grades of rice, including Basmati,” he added.