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Kathmandu,Wednesday February 23, 2000 Fagun 11, 2056.
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Oldest sugar mill shut down
By a Post Reporter
MORANG, Feb 22 - Morang Sugar Mill, the first sugar
mill of the kingdom has remained shut down since last one week due to severe cumulative
losses.
The Mill established five decades back under the
government ownership has been closed down since February 13. However, the management of
the Mill say they would restart it within a year after revamping the Mill. The decision to
shutdown the mill was taken in consultation with the labourers of the Mill. The Mill was
producing about two to three hundred quintals of sugar everyday.
The growing competition from abroad as well as
domestic sugar manufacturers had imposed a tough pressure to the ailing Mill since last
few years. Eastern Sugar Mill, a private sector mill established in Belha, Sunsari is said
to have posed a tough competition to the Mill.
Similarly, growing imports, especially from Latin
American countries flooded the market with low-priced sugar giving a fatal blow to the
already vulnerable sugar mill.
Many domestic sugar mills had complained the
government of dumping sugar from abroad and had even demanded to enact anti-dumping laws.
Amid rising pressures from the domestic sugar manufacturers, government raised tariff on
sugar import from 25 percent to 40 percent two weeks back.
The Mill was not in a position to face the mounting
pressure from the domestic manufacturers, foreign imports and accumulating cumulative
loss, says Prasant Singh, Administrative officer at the Mill.
Singh also informed that the mill also accrued an
annual loss of about 20-30 million rupees since last few years. Its operating loss
increased to about 40 million rupees this year alone.
The management intends to revamp the whole Mill by
replacing the ailing machinery. Due to obsolete technology the production cost has been
escalating since last few years, said he.
The present machinery was imported from India as
the second hand machine, when the Mill was established in 1947 AD.
Salt Trading Corporation invested a huge amount of
money in the Mill in 1989 to rescue it from severe resource constraints. The Mill was
employing about 300 people before it was finally shut down.
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