Nafed to sell buffer stock pulses to defence, paramilitary forces

Sitting on huge buffer stock of pulses, the government on Monday said cooperative firm Nafed has started disposing it and the substantial quantity would be sold to defence, para-military forces and state governments.

Nafed is one of the agencies which undertook procurement of pulses on behalf of the government for creating a buffer stock for use in period of shortages to check price rise. The buffer stock is being created since last two years.

"Nafed has started disposal of the buffer stocks. A substantial quantity would be supplied to para-military forces and the defence sector and also state governments as per their requirements under the PDS (Public Distribution System) and other such schemes," an official statement said.

The cooperative has procured a record 8.76 lakh tonnes pulses during the 2016-17 fiscal. Of which, maximum of 6.65 lakh tonnes of tur has been bought, followed by 1.29 lakh tonnes of moong, 59,000 tonnes of urad and 3,000 tonnes of masoor, it said.

Besides, Nafed has procured 2.20 lakh tonnes of groundnut, copra and other oilseeds in the same period.

In the statement, the government also said that it is actively considering a financial package to debt-ridden Nafed and will take Cabinet nod this month.

"The financial package for Nafed is also under active consideration of the Government of India and it is likely that a CCEA note would be placed in May 2017 for approval of the Cabinet," an official statement said.

The procurement of commodities worth Rs 5,916 crore last year has helped the cooperative to earn a tentative profit of Rs 106 crore before interest, which is highest in the last decade and helped turn around financially, it said. Nafed had incurred bad debt of around Rs 1,600 crore in its "tie-up" businesses during 2003-06.