Salt Trading to ensure smooth supply during festive season

Salt Trading Corporation (STC) promised to ensure smooth supply during the festive season.

“The corporation will ensure smooth supply of goods during the festive season like earlier years,” general manager at Salt Trading Urmila Shrestha said today, at a programme organised here to mark the 50th anniversary of the corporation,

The corporation has however, witnessed a net profit of around Rs 800 million in 2011-12 from a fiscal year ago’s Rs 650 million, according to the corporation that claimed to have traded essential commodities worth Rs 4.61 billion in fiscal year 2011-12.

Salt Trading needs to contribute to ensure proper supply and distribution of essential consumable goods and erode black-marketing, secretary at the Ministry of Information and Communications Surya Prasad Silwal said, adding that the government should utilise Salt Trading to control market price.

The government should utilise Salt Trading to control syndicate and cartel of private players, he said, adding that Salt Trading can play an important role in controlling the price of essential commodities by opening its own outlets with a reasonable price structure.

The corporation has an investment from the private sector and National Trading at a ratio of 79:21, respectively, according to it.

Salt trading — one among the four listed trading companies under the trading sub group — has listed 394,683 units of shares at Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) at the face value of Rs 100 per unit that was traded at Rs 261 per unit on February 13, the last trading date.

Similarly, director general at the Department of Commerce and Supply Management Narayan Prasad Bidari urged the corporation to maintain transparency. Salt Trading should publicise the details of its transactions, he said, adding that a clear and transparent trade mechanism will help the company maintain credibility.

The corporation should also clarify all allegations against it, said Bidari, hinting on the recent corruption charge worth billions of rupees labelled against it.