Six agriculture products to be promoted

KATHMANDU, OCT 16: 

The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control is developing a plan to enhance the quality of six agriculture products for better exports. It is developing a plan to promote six products included in the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS), said spokesperson of the department Promod Koirala.

According to him, the department is working on improving the quality of ginger, honey, masuro (red lentil), tea, large cardamom and noodles. 

“We are developing our standards according to major foreign markets,” he said, adding that export of these products will change the lives of thousands of farmers for the better.

The country exported five of those agriculture goods worth Rs 8.86 billion, excluding honey, last year. 

According to Trade and Export Promotion Centre, the country had exported large cardamom worth Rs 3.50 billion followed by masuro (Rs 2.68 billion), tea (Rs 1.57 billion), noodles (Rs 603 million), and ginger (Rs 507.6 million) in fiscal year 2011-12. 

The department is providing training to farmers and exporters to improve the quality of the products. For example, we are encouraging farmers and exporters to export processed ginger, said Koirala. 

It is developing an improved processing mechanism for honey, ginger, tea and large cardamom. Similarly, the department is enhancing the capacity of its laboratory to test for pesticides, other harmful particles, and diseases in export items. “Actually, we are improving the quality of NTIS goods by encouraging farmers to follow good agriculture practices,” he said. 

The good practices include organic system of production. “We are discouraging the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides,” he said, adding that this step will vastly increase the chances of exports. 

The department’s study had found residue of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in tea. The residue of lead and pesticides were higher in Jhapa-based tea but it was not above the consumption level. The residue was nominal, Koirala added, explaining about the study conducted two years back.

Source: THT