BUSINESS & ECONOMY

MoU between Nepal, India freight forwarders

By a staff reporter

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between Nepal Freight Forwarders Association (NEFFA) and Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFIA) to facilitate freight forwarding trade between Nepal and India.

It is believed that with this understanding, the difficulties that will originate in trade between Nepal and India will be solved with joint cooperation of both the associations.

Meanwhile, a special general assembly chaired by NEFFA President Rabindra Man Singh unanimously passed the Standard Trading Conditions.

On the occasion of 6th Nepal Cargo Day, last week, a seminar on "Facilitation of Trade, Transit and Export", Vinod Kumar Chaudhary, Past President of FFFIA submitted a paper. On that occasion Secretary General of Namgyal Lama, President of FFFAI Srinivasan, Project Chief of Nepal Multi Modal Trade and Transit Project Purushottam Ojha, Representatives of UNCTAD and other persons related with export trade also spoke at the function.

Vegetable ghee exported from Nepal seiged

By a staff reporter

At the time when Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is on an official visit to India, Indian police officials have held hundreds of tonnes of vegetable ghee exported from Nepal to India.

According to sources, Indian police have held those vegetable ghee at Motihari, a city near Nepal-India, without any cause for almost a month. As the problem is not solved until Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s official visit to India, entrepreneurs have raised serious concern. They have also demanded to find out an amicable solution soon.

Nepal has been exporting vegetable ghee to India since past couple of years. Nepalese vegetable ghee has been enjoying a good reputation in Indian market.

"Laboratories in both the countries have confirmed its purity and quality time and again as one of the best one. As such, stopping of Nepalese vegetable ghee by India police officials is painful," said Satish Kumar More, general secretary of Nepal Vegetable Ghee Manufacturers’ Association.

"We are very serious about the action taken by the Indian police officials. This is nothing by an act of harassment to Nepalese entrepreneurs," said More, who also owns Ganapati Vegetable Ghee Industry.

General Secretary More also informed that prior to export of vegetable ghee, it is subjected to quality test at Nepal’s Nepal Quality Control Department and then at Indian Quality Control Department in Patna or in Calcutta. "Only the best quality ghee will be given certificates for export it into the Indian markets," More added.

"The stranded vegetable ghee at Motihari were also tested both Nepalese and Indian quality control labs," he confirmed. This is for the first time that such a huge quantity of vegetable ghee is held up by the Indian police officials.

According to statistics provided by the Association, Nepal produces about 110,000 tones of vegetable ghee every year and almost fifty percent of this is exported to India. Last year, almost 60,000 tones of vegetable ghee were export to India. Similarly, fifteen thousand tones of ghee were exported to Tibet.

New priority area loan directory

By a staff reporter

Nepal’s central bank, Nepal Rastra Bank, has brought out new Priority Area Loan Directory 2057 and said that the Bank will implement it immediately.

The new directory has redefined national priority areas for disbursing loans, people below poverty line and set the limit for providing loan to both the priority sectors and the poor people.

The Bank has also defined short-term finance and short-term financial organization in the new directory. It has also set the ceiling for loan disbursement by commercial banks in certain sectors. According to the report, the commercial banks can provide loan upto Rs. 2 million for agriculture and service projects and Rs. 2.5 billion for industries.

The new provision also covers loan disbursement to various national priority sectors. These include small hydropower projects producing hydro electricity of less than 10 MW, establishment of tea farm, land development for tea plantation and packaging of tea.

The new provision has also put construction of cold storage centers, establishment of vocational and technical training centers, production of chemical fertilizers and fertilizer mixing industries under the priority sector loan. Loan disbursed for purchase of new equipment for pollution control in industries will also be considered as priority sector loan according to the new arrangements.

Similarly, development of computer software, hardware and production of vehicles operated by electricity, gas or solar energy and purchase captive generators required for irrigation and industries are put under the priority sector loan. However, for these items the bank has set a limit of Rs. 10 million per customer.