A meeting was held in Thimphu to sort out differences among the stakeholders after the wholesalers refused to place order for vegetables from the Food Corporation of Bhutan (FCB). Not a single dealer had turned up to place orders for the week’s supply of vegetables and fruits.
Most of the supplies by the FCB in Phuentsholing last week were spoilt which caused a rise in the price of the vegetables in the capital. The government had identified FCB as the sole supplier of vegetables from India to meet the vegetable requirements from the domestic production and had stopped issuing INR to vegetable wholesalers.
In a meeting today, many vegetable vendors said they are not happy with the present system. A wholesaler, Tshering Dorji, said if the government could manage Indian currency for them, they will bring their own supply. “Because it is rainy season, the FCB must be facing a problem supplying vegetables and fruits in a huge quantity. But, it is useless on their part to supply spoilt vegetables and we all lose in that situation,” he said.
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The FCB’s General Manager, Singye Wangdi, reiterated that not all the vegetables supplied by the FCB were spoilt. “We told you to leave behind the damaged ones and take only the good ones. But, the potatoes and pumpkins which were in good condition were also left behind,” the manger told the wholesalers and vendors.
After much discussion, it was decided that the system will remain as it is directed by the government. Instead, it was decided that the wholesalers will have to pay an advance of 25% while placing the orders. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forests suffered a loss of Nu.200, 000 after the vegetable vendors refused to lift about two truckloads of vegetables last week.
