Darjeeling tea, mustard oil, soaps and basic edible items will soon find space at rural public distribution system (PDS) stores, available at rates cheaper than the market price, officials said on Sunday.
Currently, PDS shops distribute subsidised rice, wheat, suger, salt and kerosene oil. The state food and public distribution (FPD) department will soon tie up with fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies to supply non-PDS items to PDS stores.
The initiative will start with distribution of Darjeeling tea from the PDS store. “Distributing Darjeeling tea from PDS stores has almost been finalised. An official will soon be sent to West Bengal to study the procedure and system of distributing non-PDS items,” FPD department secretary Vinay Kumar Choubey said. “We are planning to tie-up with tea companies for the supply,” he said.
According to the department’s plan, a 50 gram pouch of Darjeeling tea will be made available at PDS stores for Rs 7.50.
Rural consumers have to spend more on basic edibles than the urban consumers due to lower demand, poor supply chain and transportation. “The demand and supply chain impact the price of a product. In urban areas, the supply chain is stronger and the demand is higher than the rural areas. Therefore, stockists and retailers generally reduce their profit margin to benefit the consumers. In contrast, rural markets are geographically dispersed and lack adequate physical and social infrastructure. This is why distribution of goods and services to and from village is difficult,” economist Harishwar Dayal said.
{{/usCountry}}Rural consumers have to spend more on basic edibles than the urban consumers due to lower demand, poor supply chain and transportation. “The demand and supply chain impact the price of a product. In urban areas, the supply chain is stronger and the demand is higher than the rural areas. Therefore, stockists and retailers generally reduce their profit margin to benefit the consumers. In contrast, rural markets are geographically dispersed and lack adequate physical and social infrastructure. This is why distribution of goods and services to and from village is difficult,” economist Harishwar Dayal said.
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