Gold prices keep on falling

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KATHMANDU, March 16: The domestic price of gold has fast caught the receding trend. This may sound good to buyers, but gold dealers also say that it would not have any impact on their sales, as off-season has already started.

"The next season is more than a month away. The consumption capacity of locals has slid enough to trigger the business up in the meantime," said office bearers of Nepal Gold-Silver Dealers Association (NGSDA). They indicated that price upheavals would have no effect on the business. Currently, the market is haunted by post-season silence.

The sales have declined by over 90 per cent and existing business mostly comprise recycling of old ornaments, according to Tej Ratna Shakya, President of the NGSDA. However, he was optimistic that the business would start recovering over a week.

"Sharp downfall just after the passage of a season is a regular feature of the gold market," he said, adding, "If the next round of price hike is avoided, the business will definitely pick up." Shakya predicted that ‘given the latest changes seen in the market’ gold price would further slide by some 150 rupees per 10 grams in a week.

He argued that the market across the globe has started exhibiting stability and, in fact, has caught recovery trend of late. "This reduces the chances of gold price going up," he said.

Quoted prices of the precious metal on the first day of the week for about last one and half months reveal that the fall in domestic prices has been sharp. The plunge in gold price recorded today alone was of Rs 140 per 10 grams as compared to that of the last trading day, Friday.

Price quoted for gold trading on Sunday is Rs 8,660 per 10 grams, according to the NGSDA. This is a decline of Rs 340 per 10 grams in a week’s time. Gold was traded at Rs 9,000 per 10 grams last Sunday.

The decline in domestic price, due largely to plummeting demand of the yellow metal in the international market, has been recorded since February 6, when the price touched the record high Rs 9,400 per 10 grams in Nepali bullion market. Except for the last week of February, the price is more or less in a declining trend.

The decline in international gold prices kicked off after investors were convinced that the risk of war has been postponed, as people knowledgeable to the matter said.

Experts said that the recovery made by major stock markets across the globe of late was one of the major factors behind gold price decline. Speculative investors usually reshuffle their portfolio between the gold and share market due to which traditionally gold and share market maintain a negative and opposite relationship.

Likewise, the US dollar has started rising against major rival currencies in recent days, pushing the gold price down. Gold is regarded as a safe haven for the international investors, especially at a time when dollar starts sliding. Gold is priced in dollars in the world market.

The international price of gold plunged by over US$ 20 in just a week. On Friday, gold closed in London at US$ 337 per troy ounce. Though it was an upsurge of US$ 1.60 compared to the closing price of Thursday, it was said to have no far reaching effect.

In Hong Kong, gold price fell by US$ 9.25 to US$ 334.80 per troy ounce on Friday. In the international market price has returned to the value, which existed prior to the war threat, according to the NGSDA officials.

"But in Nepal it is still to come to normal level and this provides ray of hopes for maintaining business till the next season arrives," said Shakya.

Include economic agenda in round table conference: Experts

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KATHMANDU, March 16: Experts have suggested the government and the Maoists to include economic agenda in the proposed round-table conference to be held between the two parties.

Economists, businessmen and other industrialists said this during a programme organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) in Kathmandu today.

However, the co-ordinator of peace talks from the government’s side Narayan Singh Pun, who is also the Minister for Physical Planning and Works, said that it would not be ‘simple’ to come to a compromise when one side believes in liberal economy and the other party believes in a totally different centralised economy.

"A political consensus at present should focus on solving the greater problems that has been gripping the country than deciding on who will be the next prime minister," he said, adding. "At a time when half of the country’s population is hungry, youths are jobless and poverty has gained new heights, other issues are trivial."

"I could not see any signs of progress in my village even after 40 years," a disappointed Pun said. "Now the time has come to ameliorate this situation."

The participants in the programme recommended that the economic policy be reviewed, and the economic issues accorded greater priority.

Economist Raghav Dhoj Pant recommended that there should be two agendas in the peace talks – a political agenda for politicians and an economic agenda for the people.

Former chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC) Prithvi Raj Legal said that the economic agenda, which is the prime factor behind creating Maoist problem, requires major attention.

The participants demanded a consensus in the economic agenda. Chairman of CNI Binod Kumar Chaudhary attributed political differences to the failure to attain the objectives of development. "Unless the differences and ambiguities are wiped out, economic development is impossible," said Chaudhary.

Presenting a paper with recommendations for the economic agenda in the proposed talks, economist Bishwombhar Pyakuryal said that after coming to a rapidly changing phase, economy has come to a standstill. "It has become quite necessary to review the ongoing programmes and the development strategies," he said.

To bail out the country from the economic gloom being experienced for the past four or five years, it is necessary to correcting the errors of the liberal economic policy, said Jagadish Agrawal. "Any advancement can be made only after correcting the flaws in governance," he said.

Pointing out the flaws present in the labour policy, member of NPC Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that an amendment was necessary to the labour policy, which being individualistic, has proved an obstacle for the development of expertise.

Chitwan emerging as a major supplier of Gladiolus

By Prabhakar Ghimire

 CHITWAN, March 16 : Floriculture, if carried out commercially, could make the country self-sufficient in flower. This has been shown by a quick progress being made in the production of Gladiolus, a flower widely demanded in the country for various purposes.

With a sharp turnaround from the scenario of till last year, when Gladiolus used to be imported from India to fulfil the national demand, the domestic production is currently meeting the internal demand. The majority supply of the flower is carried out from Chitwan these days.

The import of the flower has nearly been displaced after the farmers of Chitwan succeeded in producing it at commercial level. Earlier, Gladiolus used to be produced in small quantity in the Kathmandu valley alone.

The sharp change in the market scenario of the flower was realised after two farmers from Chitwan, namely Narayan Sharma Acharya of Ratanagar Municipality and Lok Nath Gaire of Bhuwanbasti, carried out the Gladiolus farming in 5 bighas of land. "The flower yield from the land, which is supplied to Kathmandu, makes up some 70 per cent of the demand placed by the consumers there," they claimed.

According to Sharma, who is also a central member of Floriculture Association of Nepal (FAN) said that over Rs 250,000 worth of Gladiolus is supplied from Chitwan to the Kathmandu Valley. The total monthly demand of the flower in the valley is said to be worth about Rs 300,000.

"About 2,000 to 2,500 sticks of flower from Chitwan enters Kathmandu everyday and some 90 per cent of the supply is consumed in the capital alone," he stated. Till last year, Nepal used to import Gladiolus worth over Rs 200,000, according to the FAN. "Now that domestic production is sufficient to fulfil the national demand, we have become self-dependent on Gladiolus supply," added Sharma.

Delhi, Kolkata and Siliguri, among others, are the major Indian cities that used to supply Gladiolus to Nepal. "Not only the quantity, but also the quality of the locally produced flower is better," he claimed, stating that it was the primary reason behind the displacement of the Indian flower.

While Sharma’s Gladiolus farm is extended to three bighas, Gaire’s nursery is extended in two bighas. They claim that some 100,000 plants could be cultivated in a bigha of land. "Each plant yields a stick of flower for commercial purpose," they added. As such, they said, the return of about Rs 300,000 could be earned from a bigha of Gladiolus nursery.

Each stick of gladiolus is priced from Rs 4 to 5 in the market. The demand of the flower has been increasing in recent times, especially with a growing increment in use of flowers in festive seasons and occasions of public celebration. Although increased gladiolus farming has been seen privately as well, these are carried out mainly for personal purposes.

The farming at a commercial level is confined to Kathmandu and Chitwan only. While it is planted in Kathmandu in winter season only, in Chitwan it is carried out in autumn.

Better hospitality can attract more Indian tourists

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KATHMANDU, March 16 : If Nepal is promoted directly among the middle-class Indians, the inflow of Indian tourists would increase rapidly, says the member of Nepali team that were in a weeklong promotional tour to several bordering cities of India. However, they add that better hospitality has to be ensured towards Indian tourists.

During the visit to nine bordering cities aiming at promoting Destination Nepal Campaign, the Nepali team noticed that the Indian tour operators hardly promote Nepal among the Indians and, instead persuade them to visit nearby Indian tourist spots like Goa and Nainital.

The main reason for such tendency of the Indian tour operators, says Sanjeev Pandey, the member of Nepali team, who is also an officer at Nepal Tourism Board, is the higher commission provided in the Indian package. He adds, "The prices of Nepali tourism products are cheaper than the Indian products, but the Indian tour operators prefer selling Indian packages in an anticipation of high commissions."

Nepali team, accompanied by a typical cultural troupe, was in a visit to major Indian cities including Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Allahabad during the first week of March. "We observed a good number of Indian participation in the cultural programmes and was warmly responded by the local press," Pandey adds.

The participation of the notable people including the District Magistrates, president of the Hotel Association of India, Chief of the Department of Communications and the influential Hindu religious leader Padam Bhushan Pandit Kishanji Maharaj also helped in promoting Nepal in India, he adds.

Indians make the most number of tourists coming into the Kingdom. The number of Indian tourists used to be almost one third of the total tourist arrivals to Nepal. A total of 30 per cent Indian tourists had come to Nepal during the last fiscal year, up from some 22 per cent during the year 2001.

Just promoting Nepal in the Indian market will not yield positive outcomes, the attitude should be changed, says local entrepreneurs adding, that a number of cases have come where the Indian tourists are harassed and misbehaved by the Nepali tour operators.

As evidence to what the entrepreneurs say, the members of Prithvi Transport Association had manhandled the Indians on a tourist bus to Pokhara, some months back. The transport operators had argued then that the tourist service was only for the foreigners other than Indian and Nepali visitors.

During the year 2002, a total of 16,531 Indian tourists had come to Nepal by air, up from 11,949 Indians visited Nepal in 2001.

Army mobilisation helps in raising more revenue

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BIRGUNJ, March 16 : Smuggling has been significantly gone down and revenue collection has increased following the mobilisation of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) as revenue patrol at principal entry points across the Nepal-India border.

The RNA has been stationed to some of the important points like Birgunj since mid-March 2001. In the last two years of the deployment of the army, the revenue patrols of Birgunj have confiscated goods worth Rs 48 million and 273 thousand that were being illegally brought into the country.

Birgunj Customs chief Bodh Raj Niraula says that the payoff of the patrols is far higher than the meagre amount of Rs 45,000 spent on fuel and power for the team monthly.

Before the revenue patrols were started, goods used to be smuggled through the main points on trucks and tractors whereas now, the smugglers have resorted to transporting the goods using cycles and porters through smaller and less used points. These too are being raided and seized.

Apart from the confiscated goods, the patrolling has also helped in increasing import through the legal channels thus resulting in a collection of more than Rs 2 billion as customs duty.

Army sources say that they have not been able to completely put a stop to illegal import because they are not getting enough help from other sectors. Twenty-five RNA personnel assigned to patrol over 50 kilometres long Bara and Parsa border shows how the revenue patrols are not being able to stop the smuggling that goes on in small groups.

In the fiscal year 2002/03 alone, the RNA has seized goods worth Rs 27 million that were being smuggled in, while the police records show that the police have been able to capture goods worth only Rs 100,000 in the same period.

But the locals are complaining that the RNA has been tormenting them. They say that the information on the basis of which the RNA is carrying out raids is not always reliable so some of the goods confiscated had actually been paid for at the customs office.

Refuting this claim, President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Satya Narayan Agrawal says, "Businessmen are facing unnecessary troubles as some of the members of the patrol team cannot understand the import/export documents."

Traders have to put collateral when they register the duty on the confiscated goods even when they have already been paid for. "To get back the collateral, they have to file law suits and the court takes years to decide on the matter." He says that some parties have been using the RNA by misleading them through false information against respected traders in order to trouble them. "Informers have to be made answerable," he reiterates.

However, an RNA official says that they provide the offenders enough time to submit necessary documents. "We register the seized goods only after they have been unable to present the legal documents. The traders rush to pay the revenue and only after their goods have been seized," he claims.

The government originally deployed these troops with the aim of replacing them with the revenue police department that was to be formed within one year, but nothing has been done to this effect yet.

Customs Chief Niraula attributes this to the lack of necessary Act. He adds, "The draft is ready but the process came to a halt as the House of Representatives was dissolved."

The RNA personnel are posted at Birgunj, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, Tatopani and Kankarbhitta customs offices.