Nepal - China trade gap high

KATHMANDU, JULY 10:

Nepal China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCCI), during its 13th AGM, urged the government to coordinate with the private sector to reduce the trade gap with China.

Speaking on the occasion, president of the chamber Rajesh Kazi Shrestha expressed the need to strengthen trade relations with China, as it is one of the major trading partners o the country. “Our bi-national trade has been increasing in volume but Nepal is also facing a huge trade deficit with China,” he said.

The data for 2012 reveals that Nepal has a trade deficit of around Rs 62 billion. “The huge trade deficit needs to be reduced and the government along with the private sector must work together to minimise the trade gap,” said Shrestha.

Recently, both the countries signed an agreement to provide zero tariff facilities on 7,787 Nepali products. “We hope this initiative will help increase our exports to China and minimise trade gap. But Nepali exporters still have not been able to grab the opportunity,” Shrestha said, adding there must be proper information about the facility and government should make process to receive the facility simpler and easily accessible.

Due to the complicated process in quarantine, Nepali exporters have been facing problems in exporting food items, agriculture products and livestock, stated NCCCI. It has also requested the government to discuss with Chinese counterparts to address the problem.

“The government should also create an environment to issue quarantine certificates that are acceptable to the Chinese customs,” Shrestha said.

During the programme, representatives from NCCCI also requested both the governments to upgrade the existing transit routes for better connectivity through land route with proper infrastructure and simplified customs procedures to encourage trade between the two countries.

One of the dry ports at the Sino-Nepal border is under construction and if the Special Economic Zone too could be established at the border, Chinese investors could be attracted.

Need to attract Chinese tourists: NCCCI

During the 13th annual general meeting of NCCCI, president of the chamber Rajesh Kazi Shrestha informed that the Chinese government has declared Nepal as its outbound tourist destination so the arrival of Chinese tourists has been increasing in recent years. In 2012, more than one hundred thousand Chinese tourists visited Nepal. He also stressed on the need to increase the existing flight frequency and to take initiative for direct connectivity with major cities of China that are Beijing and Shanghai to attract Chinese tourists. “Each year, more than 50 million Chinese tourists travel abroad, and if we are able to attract even a small fraction, it could be beneficial to our tourism industry.”

Source: THT