Kathmandu, Dec. 13
The Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil
& Pulses Industry (ANROPI) has requested the government to facilitate the
private sector in importing 10 million tonnes of paddy from India on the
pretext of the shortfall of the same amount of produce this year.
The Association called on Prime Minister
Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Wednesday and urged him to take a diplomatic
initiative to bring 10 million tonnes of rice from India under a customs
exemption facility saying that enough rice was not produced in the country.
They reminded the PM of the request of the
Government of Nepal made to India through its embassy in Kathmandu in September
this year to provide 10 million tonnes of paddy. However, the paddy has not yet
been imported to Nepal.
The delegation of the ANROPI led by its
President, Kumud Kumar Dugar, also called on the Minister for Industry,
Commerce and Supplies, Ramesh Rijal, Secretary of Commerce, Narayan Prasad
Sharma Duwadi and Joint Secretary Ram Chandra Tiwari to update them about the
current status of paddy in Nepal and need to import from India.
According to it, due to the inability to
import paddy from India, the price of rice in Nepal will go up in the coming
days and the consumer might have to pay extra price.
ANROPI updated the PM, Minister and other
government officials about the condition of the rice mills in Nepal and the adequacy
of the raw materials.
When the Indian government imposed a 20
per cent customs duty on exports, it had a direct impact on Nepal and the price
of rice this year has increased by Rs. 10 per kg compared to last year, read a
statement issued by the Association.
There is a difference of Rs. 8 while
importing paddy by paying 20 per cent customs duty – it costs Rs. 50 with duty
and Rs. 42 without duty which makes a difference of Rs. 16 for a kilo of rice.
Entrepreneurs said that the businesses
operating legally are facing hard times as they have to compete with the
smuggled rice which comes at a lower price.
Due to such a huge difference in prices,
domestic investment of billions of rupees in rice mills will be at risk as
Nepali products cannot compete with rice and paddy imported illegally to Nepal,
said ANROPI.
India imposes a 20 per cent customs duty
on rice exports, while Nepal demands a 5 per cent agricultural reform duty. It
makes the total customs charge 25 per cent while importing rice.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 December 2023.
No comments:
Post a Comment