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| Kathmandu Friday March 22, 2002 Chaitra 09, 2058. |
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Nepali exports to India resumes
Post Report
BIRATNAGAR, March 21 : The Nepali exports to
India, which was halted after the imposition of the quota system in the renewed
Nepal-India Trade Treaty has commenced with the exports of vegetable ghee from the
Biratnagar Customs Thursday.
The exports of the vegetable ghee to India
has commenced following the circular issued by the Department of Customs (DoC) a week ago,
said Madhav Raj Pokhrel, Chief of the Biratnagar Customs talking to The Kathmandu Post
today.
According to Pokhrel, the circular of the DoC
allows any exporters to export up to 5 per cent of their last years’ export volume
until the government fixes the quota on the quantitatively restricted exportable items.
The renewed Nepal India Trade Treaty has
provisioned to impose quantitative restrictions on vegetable ghee, copper products, zinc
oxide and acrylic yarn and to introduce the value addition provision for the export of
Nepali commodities duty free to India.
Following which, Nepal can export 100,000
tons of vegetable ghee under the facility of duty free access. The quota fixed for the
acrylic yarn is 10,000 tons, copper wire is 7,500 and zinc oxide is 2,500 tons. Similarly,
there is a mandatory provision of 25 to 30 per cent value additions on the Nepali products
to be exported to India.
"Three trucks of vegetable ghee produced
by Biratnagar-based Pashupati Foods was exported today," informed Pokhrel. Though,
none of other quantitatively restricted items could get access to the Indian market, they
are in the process of exported to the Indian market, he added.
Businessmen say that the unnecessary hassles
has risen over the export of these commodities because the recently renewed Trade Treaty
has clearly stated that new quota system would come into effect only after mid-April.
Though Nepali exporters have all the rights to export their products under the earlier
provision, they have been facing problems, they say.
Pokhrel states that the decline in exports
has also hit government’s revenue collection. "The revenue during one week after
the Trade Treaty renewal, fell down by over Rs 25 million," he informed. The customs
duty collection during one week prior to the Trade Treaty renewal was Rs 41.5 million,
which fell to Rs 15.8 million one-week immediately after the Trade Treaty was renewed.
According to export statistics provided by Biratnagar Customs
Office, vegetable ghee worth Rs 1.43 billion was exported to India during the past seven
months of the current fiscal year. Also, Rs 94.6 million worth zinc oxide, Rs 659.5
million worth copper products and Rs 410.5 million worth acrylic yarn were exported to
India during the same period.
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