Kathmandu, Mar. 6: The government has stated that there is not any problem in the supply of essentials like petroleum products, salt, sugar and rice as there is enough stock. Saying the government was effortful to ensure regular supply of essentials, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply has urged customers not to panic and hoard essentials unnecessarily.

The government's act aims to contain artificial shortage of essentials amidst fear of coronavirus (COVID-19) which is fast spreading across the globe. The World Health Organisation has put Nepal at high risk of the virus. The Ministry said the Food Management and Trading Company Ltd. has 25,669 metric tonnes of rice in stock.

It also pledged action against those creating artificial shortage of essentials. Regular market monitoring is going on. In this regard, discussions were held with the departments under the ministry, the Department of Drug Administration, the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Confederation of Nepalese Industries, the Nepal Chamber of Commerce and representatives of various trade organisations on Thursday and Friday, it has been said. Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supply, Lekhraj Bhatta also attended the discussions.

Similarly, the Ministry in a statement on Friday urged concerned authorities not to hoard face masks and sanitizers, thus creating artificial shortage.