Kathmandu, Oct. 20
More than 2,000 traders in Kathmandu and
other cities in the country have lost millions of rupees as they failed to
bring their goods stuck in the bordering towns of China to Nepal for more than
six months.
Recently, they have felt salt in their
bruise as the Chinese customs agents at Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani started to demand
25,000 to 60,000 RMB to pass a container with goods.
Traders who have been waiting for their
goods to pass through the customs offices are shocked with this new malady.
"We are shocked to hear that the customs agents have been bargaining with
Nepali traders to pass the goods. How can the importers now pay additional
money that goes up to Rs. 900,000 per container?" said Niraj Rai, Chair of
Customs Committee at the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC).
The goods stuck at the bordering cities
includes raw materials, readymade clothes, shoes, food and fruits. Fruits had
been already damaged while many industries are facing difficulties in their
operation due to the shortage of raw materials which have arrived at the border
side but couldn't make its way through the customs.
According to the traders, there are about
25 agents at the Chinese Customs across the border. They said that the if they
paid the amount demanded by the Chinese customs agents, the cost of the
imported goods and raw materials will go exponentially up which would make the
trading of such goods difficult.
"It has already been a disaster for
us. Most of my stuck goods include clothes and fashion items targeted for the
summer season which is over now and again I am asked for additional charge to
bring the same good to Nepal," a trader said.
China has shut the operations including the
movement of goods at Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani – two major cross-border entry
points between Nepal and China – in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak
earlier this year. China has started to pass five containers a day from
September 25 from Rasuwagadhi border while Tatopani border was open from
October 6.
As it would take about two months just to pass
300 containers stuck Keyrung and 400 in Khasa with 5 trucks a day, governments
of both the countries had agreed to allow 10 trucks a day through each border
point.
"But the new demand of the customs
agent has made the things worse," said Rai.
Many traders said that they would think
twice now before conducting trade via Keyrung and Tatopani border. According to
them, it felt like a blockade. Rai said that this episode would be a great
shock to some medium-scale traders while some industry relying on raw materials
from China had been closed.
Traders want greater cooperation and
facilitation from the Embassy of China in Kathmandu and Ministry of Industry,
Commerce and Supplies (MoICS).
Secretary of the MoICS Baikuntha Aryal said
that the two countries had been discussing the issue of the border facilitation
and Tatopani border would come into full operation within a couple of day.
"The issue of Tatopani border is
resolved however, it would take some more days for Rasuwagadhi border point to
operate normally," he said, "It was delayed due to the COVID-19
sensitivity."
Chinse Embassy in Kathmandu has also been
reiterating that the border was closed for the precautions against COVID-19
pandemic. However, it maintained that the medical supplies had not been obstructed.
It has recently reopened Zhangmu and Jilong
ports for one-way cross-border transit to send goods from China to Nepal.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 October 2020.
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