West Bengal: Items cheaper at govt stores despite storm, diesel pinch

KOLKATA: At a time when prices of almost everything have been pushed up by lockdown, Amphan and high diesel price, state-run retail outlets, like those of Haringhata Meat, Sufal Bangla and state fisheries, have been selling essentials, including vegetables, meat and fish, at affordable rates. No wonder the government outlets have been doing brisk business, while many major chains have apparently been witnessing a drop in footfalls.
Haringhata Meat has recorded a 100% jump in business owing to the low rates. It has been selling mutton at Rs 550 a kg and chicken at Rs 140 a kg, registering a price gap with the general market rates of Rs 800/kg (now, a little less) for mutton and Rs 280/kg for chicken. The chain can keep the prices under check owing to government control. “People queue up at my shop from 5.30am, though I start selling only from 7.30am. The demand has increased as our rates have stayed stable,” said Souvik Dey, owner of a Haringhata shop at Kadamtala in Howrah.


Similar is the scene with vegetables and other essentials, such as flour and spices, at Sufal Bangla stores. Owing to the affordable prices, almost everything gets sold out soon after supply arrives. Tomatoes that cost Rs 80-90 per kg outside are sold at Rs 68 a kg at the state outlets. “One of the reasons for the low our prices is we source the produce directly from farmers. We are connecting the two ends—producers and consumers—with each other, without letting middlemen get involved,” said an agri-marketing official. Sufal Bangla has 140 stores in the city.
For fish-loving Bengalis, the state fisheries development corporation has been providing the staple at affordable rates. Fish prices in the market have risen due to high transportation costs—thanks to problems in supply from other states and diesel price rise—and shutting of wholesale markets in containment zones. But as the fisheries development corporation increased their production in their bherries they could supply at lower rates. “We are selling fish through our SFDC app and we have no unsold stock,” said an official.