Country may open rice export to China

KATHMANDU:

At a time when the country has witnessed a huge drop in production of paddy among other summer crops, the government has ironically said that it may open rice export to China soon. The country had banned export of rice since one-and-a-half years back citing food deficit and there is no progress yet in this regard.

The country itself has been importing food since long and rice worth Rs 5.51 billion was imported in the first five months of this fiscal 2014-15.

The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has made clear that it is mulling over setting the quota for rice export. Citing the initial homework, a high-level source of MoCS, who is privy to this development, said that the ministry is preparing to open up export of up to 10,000 tonnes of rice to China. MoCS can open the export through a ministerial-level decision.

Two routes — Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi — are popular in trading with the northern neighbour. Traders may get a chance to export up to 5,000 tonnes through each route this fiscal, as per the source at the ministry. “There is huge demand for Nepali rice in China, where importers quote high prices for it.”

The country, this year witnessed a shortfall in production of rice. As per the initial projection of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD), paddy production might fall by five per cent as compared to the previous fiscal 2013-14, when it stood at 5.47 million tonnes.

The country’s paddy production in 2012-13 was 4.51 million tonnes, when the government had banned the export of rice. Despite higher production in the subsequent fiscal of 2013-14, the government had not opened rice export.

On the contrary, the government had imported rice worth Rs 13.68 billion in 2013-14 against the import of Rs 12.2 billion of fiscal 2012-13, according to the trade data disclosed by Trade and Export Promotion Centre.

Source: THT