'Political turmoil affecting investment year'

Stating that prolonged political situation is taking a toll on nation´s economy, Surendra Bir Malakar, general secretary of the National Business Initiative (NBI) said on Friday the Investment Year 2012/13 has almost failed and that businessmen were looking for other countries to shift their investment.
“Business people are keeping their fingers crossed; the situation is becoming chaotic,” Malakar said in an interaction organized by NBI, an organization working in the field of conflict resolution and establishment of sustainable peace in the country in order to improve business environment. “Many business people are seeking to shift their investment."
According to press release, business people at the interaction shared their common concern over deteriorating business doing environment in the country.
“Political situation is prolonging, private sector won´t prosper in this scenario," Suresh Kumar Basnet, president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, said in the interaction, according to the release. “We need to develop entrepreneurship to create employment opportunities in the market. It can lead us to a better path.”
The program mainly focused on social corporate responsibility (CSR) of private firms. “We need firms that can make a difference through the CSR programs in society,” DB Subedi , who presented a paper on institutional social responsibility in conflict affected economy, said.

Young entrepreneurs summit kicks off

A two-day summit of Nepali young entrepreneurs kicked off on Thursday in the capital in a bid to explore new business opportunities amid adverse business climate in the country.
Around 350 promising entrepreneurs across the country have gathered to share their ideas, knowledge and experiences to exploit the untapped business potential.
Nepalese Young Entrepreneurs´ Forum (NYEF) -- a forum for young entrepreneurs under the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) -- has organized the Young Entrepreneurs Summit (YES) 2012 in coordination with Entrepreneurs for Nepal (E4N), Samriddhi-The Prosperity Foundation, Association of Youth Organization Nepal (AYON) and Young Entrepreneur Forum of Confederation of Nepali Industries (CNI).
“The summit aims at creating a platform for aspiring young entrepreneurs to explore business opportunities within the country,” Sudarshan Basnet, executive member of NYEF, said on the occasion.
Different sessions are being organized to enhance skills and give inspirational inputs to the young participants during the conference.
The event being organized with the theme, ´Entrepreneurship: Engine of the Nation?” will cover a wide range of topics on business prospects.
Speaking on the occasion, Suraj Vaidhya, president of FNCCI, highlighted the importance of young entrepreneurs in leading the country to economic prosperity.
Entrepreneurs such as Pradeep Kumar Shrestha, Bijay Rajbhandari, Ananda Bagaria and Bhawani Rana will also share their experiences along with 15 young entrepreneurs.
Young entrepreneurs will extensively discuss opportunities for investment in different sectors such as agriculture, tourism and information & technology in which Nepal enjoys a competitive edge.

Industrial infrastructure development hard hit by budget

The political deadlock which obstructed annoucement of a full-fledged budget for the current fiscal year 2012/13 has paralyzed government´s program to support cement industries utilizing local raw materials which was launched four years back in 2008/09.
Under the program, the government had promised to construct roads, drinking water facility and lay electricity lines to the factory sites. This, the government had claimed would encourage investors to make use of country´s huge limestone reserves, thereby saving billions of rupees on import of clinker.
The ministries such as Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management (MoPPWTM), Ministry of Energy (MoE) and Ministry of Industry (MoI), which are entrusted to carry out the program, had failed to spend the allocated budget in the previous fiscal year 2011/12.
“Now, there is just one third budget of actual expenditure of last fiscal year, which means less money which is too little even to build small portion of the infrastructure in the factory sites,” an official at the MoI told Republica on the condition of anonymity.
The government over the last four years had constructed only one third of the total 32 km road it had promised to four cement factories -- Ghorahi, Sonapur, Dang and Rolpa. Though the government had released Rs 175 million for road construction, only 48 percent of the amount have been spent so far.
Private sector, which had praised the government program, has started expressing disappointment. “The program was somehow a good step to improve the condition of industrial sector in the country,” an official of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) said on the condition of anonymity. He still expects that the government would work once the full-fledged budget comes in place.
Meanwhile, the MoPPWTM is working on designing program for this fiscal year. “The ministry is working on developing the program with the allocation of the current fiscal year,” Tulsi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the MoPPWTM said. “The program will be implemented after jointly approving it from the National Planning Commission (NPC) and MoI.”
The private sector was exerting pressure on the political parties to come with the full-fledged budget for the current fiscal year 2012/13 through consensus. “We knew that the situation would be like this. This is just an example of the scenario. There are many other sectors and programs which have been badly affected due to the lack of full-fledged budget,” the FNCCI official said.

FNCCI, MNCCI sign MoU

Private sector of Nepal and Mongolia have joined hands to work together for the development of both the countries by exchanging expertise and knowledge through meetings, conference and technical workshops for businesspersons from both the countries.
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Mongolia last week, agreeing to work together for business enhancement in both the countries, according to a press statement issued on Sunday.
“Pradeep Kumar Shrestha, former president of the FNCCI and S Demberel, chairman of the MNCCI signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organizations in the presence of Benedicto Yujiico, president of the Confederation of Asian-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI),” reads the statement.
The private sector of both the countries will help each other to share knowledge and expertise on developing environment for attracting foreign investment.
The MoU also aims to form a Nepal-Mongolia Business Council (NMBC) as a mechanism to bridge the business relationship between the two countries.

Strike ends as govt, transporters reach deal

The transporters have ended their two-day-old strike of public transport after the government agreed to form a task force to study their demand to annul a provision which allowed traffic police to fine motorists up to Rs 1,000 late Saturday night.
During Saturday´s talks, the government agreed to address 14 of the 15-point demand put forward by the transporters. On the most contentious point - annulment of delegation of authority to the traffic police to fine motorists between Rs 200 to Rs 1,000, the two sides agreed to resolve the issue after a field study by the task force comprising representatives from both the sides.
"We have agreed to revisit the government´s decision to provide authority to the traffic police through a study and are ready to address other 14 demands," Tulsi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management (MoPPWTM) told Republica after the meeting.
The transport entrepreneurs have also shown flexibility to conduct a field study over the most crucial point of their demands through the task force within next 15 days. "We have called off our strike after the government agreed to carefully study on our problems and sort out it," Dol Nath Khanal, general secretary of the National Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs (NFNTE), said. "The government´s decision will be based on the field report of the task force."
Four transport unions including National Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs (NFNTE), All Nepal Transport Workers Association, Nepal Yatayat Workers Association and Nepal Yatayat Independent Workers´ Association had jointly declared indefinite strike from August 10, accusing the government of failing to address the problems of transport entrepreneurs.
Commuters, who relied heavily on the public transports, were severely affected by the two day strike. The entrepreneurs had called nationwide strike demanding for annulment of the provision for slapping fines of Rs 200 to Rs 1,000 for every single violation of traffic rules. Additionally, the transport entrepreneurs have urged for annulment of Metropolitan Traffic Police Division´s decision to reward 15 percent of revenues collected as fine from drivers to traffic police who was involved in fining the violator.
Hundreds of thousands of commuters suffered as public vehicles such as micro-vans, tempos, buses and taxis stayed off the road due to the strike for the second day Saturday. The second round of talk between government and transport entrepreneurs had ended inconclusively on Friday afternoon.
The transporters had then threatened to stop even the private vehicles from operating from Sunday to press their demands.
"The provision for slapping fines ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000 is not practical as drivers of public vehicles, who need to be on the road throughout the day, cannot afford to fork out such huge amounts and it´s not practical," Khanal, said referring to the four-month-old decision of the government to delegate authority to increase fines to the traffic police.
As black-plated vehicles -- a broad categorization of public transport vehicles -- stayed away from regular service, Nagdhunga checkpoint, the main entry and exit point to and from Kathmandu Valley, recorded only 200 private vehicles passing through on Friday and it was almost same on Saturday as well. Normally, 3,000-5,000 vehicles use the Nagdhunga point every day, according to Metropolitan Traffic Police at Nagdhunga.

Govt-transport union talks fail

Even as hundreds of thousands of commuters suffered due to the indefinite strike called by four public transport unions, the agitating transporters have threatened to prevent all vehicles, including private and government, from plying the streets from Sunday, after the two-hour negotiations ended inconclusively on Friday.
The warning came after the second round of talks between the government and agitating transport entrepreneurs could not yield positive results as both sides remained adamant in their positions. This means the latest public transport shutdown first clamped on Friday will continue on Saturday and keep 425,000 public vehicles off the road, affecting normal life across the country.
According to Tulsi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management (MoPPWTM), the meeting between the government and transport entrepreneur representatives held at Singha Durbar Friday afternoon foundered after the government rejected the transport entrepreneurs´ demand for scrapping the powers that have been delegated to the Metropolitan Traffic Police.
"The demands of the transport entrepreneurs are not practical as they are seeking annulment of the provision for slapping fines of Rs 200 to Rs 1,000 for violation of traffic rules," Sitaula told media after the meeting. He further said the government is ready to discuss their other demands.
The other demands of transport entrepreneurs include formation of a separate transport ministry, recognition of the transport sector as an industry and annulment of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division´s decision to reward 15 percent of revenues collected from motorists as fines to traffic police personnel.
However, the agitating entrepreneurs said that they won´t review their demand at any cost since the government was not being rational while formulating laws for ensuring smoother traffic flow. "Reviewing our demands is next to impossible," Dol Nath Khanal, general secretary of National Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs (NFNTE), told Republica, adding that the next meeting will be held only if the government changed its impracticable stance.
"The provision for slapping fines ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000 is not practical as drivers of public vehicles, who need to be on the road throughout the day, cannot afford to fork out such huge amounts," Khanal said, referring to the four-month-old decision of the government to delegate authority to increase fines to the traffic police.
NFNTE along with All Nepal Transport Workers Association, Nepal Yatayat Workers Association and Nepal Yatayat Independent Workers´ Association joined hands Wednesday to declare an indefinite strike from August 10, accusing the government of failing to address the problems of transport entrepreneurs.
As black-plated vehicles -- a broad categorization of public transport vehicles -- opted to refrain from regular service, Nagdhunga checkpoint, the main entry and exit point for Kathmandu Valley, recorded only 200 private vehicles passing through on Friday.
Normally, 3,000-5,000 vehicles use the Nagdhunga point every day, according to Metropolitan Traffic Police at Nagdhunga.

PAF to form ad hoc committee for national ID distribution

Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) has decided to from an ad hoc coordination committee comprising representatives from public and private sector under the leadership of PAF vice chairperson Janak Raj Joshi to distribute the proposed the national identity cards to poor households until an over-sight agency is formed.
According to a press release issued on Friday, PAF board meeting decided to form an ad hoc committee and also proposed to develop an over-sight agency to ensure the effective implementation of national identity cards distribution program.
The meeting decided to distribute the national identity card in three phases. “It will distribute the cards in 25 districts in the first phase,” said the press releasing without identifying the districts.
The committee will start work on distribution of national identity card formally from from Sept 17.
The PAF, which is entrusted to carry out the national identity cards distribution program, will also review the report prepared by the technical committee on poor households. “The report will be submitted to the government after the review,” read the release.
The government launched the program to distribute the national identity cards to the poor households within this fiscal year 2012/13.

Special unit at commerce ministry to facilitate Nepal-China trade

The government has set up a technical unit, a special cell, at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) in a bid to promptly address technical problems, concerns and other confusions faced by the traders doing business with China.
The unit has been formed after Nepal-Tibet Trade Facilitation Committee (NTTFC) -- an inter-governmental special mechanism between Nepal and China -- decided to set up the unit in the commerce ministries of both the countries to facilitate direct communications and prompt solution to technical problems.
“The cell has been developed to resolve problems that traders face from day to day,” Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya, joint secretary at MoCS told Republica. “We have already informed the Chinese government about its establishment and hope to receive a positive news from them as well.”
Going by the cell´s operation guidelines, traders involved in exports and imports from China can directly file their complaints at the cell if they face any problems.
The officials deputed at the cell are entrusted to promptly communicate their problems to the Chinese authority in Nepal as well as officials of similar cell in the Chinese commerce ministry and suggest solutions to resolve them.
The officials had been strongly raising this issue mainly as more Nepali traders were filing complaints at the ministry in recent years over various problems at the customs due to language barrier, lack of proper disclosure of tariff and procedures, among others.
Upadhyaya, who is also the focal person of the unit, said that the unit will stay in close touch with the traders and coordinate with the Chinese government agencies to solve problems.
However, officials said that the success of the cell will depend on how promptly the concerned Chinese officials respond to Nepal´s queries and explanations. “Given the type of bureaucracy and procedures China follows, we will have to wait for the time being to be sure it will deliver the desired result,” said a source.
If the unit did work in the manner Nepali traders wish, they believe it will greatly facilitate and ease trade between the two countries, mainly exports. Data of Trade and Export Promotion Center (TEPC) shows, Nepal suffered trade deficit of Rs 46 billion with China in 2010/122.

Indian decision to operate major ports 24/7 elates Nepali traders

India has decided to operate its customs at leading airports and sea ports, including Kolkata, round the clock throughout the week. The move is expected to speed up clearance of goods in transit to Nepal.
The decision, if truly implemented, is expected to speed up customs clearance, thereby lowering detention and demurrage charges for Nepali traders. Thus lowering of the transit cost can impact the final pricing as well, ultimately bringing some respite to general consumers who have been bearing the brunt of high transit and transportation costs.
“This is really a good decision for us,” said Rajan Sharma, president of Nepal Freight Forwarders´ Association (NEFFA). “It will ease our day-to-day business and made trading cost effective.” He also said decrease in detention and demurrage charges will benefit Nepali consumers.
The Prime Minister´s Office of India had decided to facilitate round the clock customs operation at major seaports and airports on Tuesday in a bid to remove the constraints for international trade. It has instructed the customs and other authority to implement the decision within 15 days.
“In order to remove this customs-related bottleneck, it has been agreed that customs clearances will now be available at seaports such as Kolkata, Chennai, Kandla and Mumbai and airports such as New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai round the clock in order to facilitate trade services,” reads a press release that the Indian PMO issued on Tuesday.
So far, the cargos dispatched to and send out of Nepal were required to wait for days at Kolkata port and airports in India due to the lack of prompt and round the clock clearance facilities.
“Hopefully, the decision will significantly cut those detentions now,” Nikhir Jaisani, a Biratnagar-based trader told Republica over phone. “We hope our consignments, once this decision is implemented, will not be forced to be parked in the port by paying everyday demurrage and detention charges.”
Along with the customs, the Indian PMO has also asked other agencies such as port and airport authority, drug controller office, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, quarantine and private players such as custodians to operate round the clock to facilitate international trade.
Once the new arrangement comes into force, the customs house agents, banks and transporters also will need to work round the clock to synchronize with the extended work hours.
As Nepal uses only Kolkata port to carry out its imports and exports, the goods that are imported won´t be piled up due to closure of customs clearance during the weekend. “We have to wait for two days to get the customs clearance if it comes on Friday,” Sharma said. “We won´t have to waste time and money after customs offices at ports started operating round the clock.”

Political instability, labor unrest pull down FDI by 30 percent

The deepening political instability and frequent labor unrest has dragged down the inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Nepal by around 30 percent during the fiscal year 2011/12 compared to the figure a year earlier.
The whopping decline in FDI inflows has resulted in 17 percent fall in employment generation with creation of only 9,050 new jobs in the country.
The decline in FDI inflows was witnessed in crucial sectors of the national economy such as manufacturing and agriculture.
The statistics compiled by the Department of Industry (DoI) showed the number of new jobs created in the market had fallen despite a rise in the number of industries approved under FDI across the country.
The number of firms approved by the DoI increased to 227, up by 18 compared to the figure recorded earlier year. However, the flow of investment fell to Rs 7.14 billion, down from Rs 10.05 billion a year ago.
“We didn´t get much investment in areas such as manufacturing and agriculture which took away a significant chunk of FDI inflows in to the country,” Bipin Rajbhandari, director at the DoI told Republica on Sunday.
Statistics further showed that agro-based industries saw a decline in FDI by staggering 56 percent falling to just Rs 162 million and creating 840 fewer jobs in the market compared to earlier year.
Likewise, the FDI inflow in the manufacturing sector also dropped by 84 percent to Rs 988 million. The fall in FDI in this sector also led to fewer job creation.
The FDI, however, in the sectors such as energy and service industries went up during the fiscal year 2011/12. “However, these areas do not create more jobs in the market,” Rajbhandari added. The country could see zero investment in the construction sector during the year. The construction sector had received Rs 150 million as the FDI during the fiscal year 2010/11 generating 90 new job opportunities in the market.
On the back of slowing FDI, the government is stepping up the process to endorse the new Special Economic Zone (SEZs) bill, Industrial Enterprises Act (IEA), Foreign Direct Investment and One Window Policy to lure more investment from foreign as well as domestic investors.
The government is establishing SEZs in 10 different places including Bhairawa, Biratnagar, Bara and Siraha in a bid to create conducive industrial environment.
Despite the increase in the number of industries registered during the year, the number of large and medium scale industries - key generator of jobs opportunities - fell in the fiscal year 2011/12.
According to the statistics, 10 large scale industries were approved by the DoI during the review year. The figure was 15 during the previous fiscal year. Likewise, the number of medium scale industries has fallen from 17 to 14. Large scale industries comprise more than two-third of total FDI inflow in to the country.
However, the number of small scale industries increased marginally from 177 to 203 in the fiscal year 2011/12.

WTO to review Nepal's progress on trade development

Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), an initiative of the World Trade Organization (WTO) working to enhance trade capacity of the least developed countries (LDCs), is soon reviewing the progress made by Nepal on exploiting trade potential since the program was implemented in the country in 2010.
Toya Narayan Gyawali, joint secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS), said EIF board has initiated the process for hiring an independent team to review the progress that Nepal has made after institutionally starting the EIF program under MoCS.
“The review will measure the achievements Nepal made after implementation of the EIF program,” Gayawali told Republica. The review would also help policymakers compare the program´s output with other LDCs that have received similar support from WTO to improve trade.
Nepal has received two tiers of support from the EIF. Under which tier-1was implemented eyeing to upgrade the quality of human resources, prepare study reports on trade and development, formulate project supporting country´s supply capacity, whereas under tier-2 package, it has received support on developing trade related infrastructure.
“The EIF is reviewing Nepal´s progress as part of its country review decision. As per the decision, it would gauge output of its support to all the 40 countries that have implemented its program,” Gayawali said.
Under the tier-1 support, Nepal has developed Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2010, identifying 19 products -- 12 goods and seven services -- in which the country enjoys special competitive edge to boost trade and ultimately achieve the goal of poverty reduction.
The registration of Chyangra Pashmina, a collective trademark of Nepali pashmina products, in more than 40 countries of Europe, America and Asia too was done with support from EIF.
Likewise, recently the government had also successfully received fresh support from EIF to enhance production and improve the value chain of ginger -- one of the niche exportable products included in NTIS. MoCS has also sought EIF assistance for the development of medicinal herbs processing industry in the country.
"The independent review will help us to plug the loopholes that are putting downward pressure on the country´s trade," said Gyawali.
Though traders and farmers are yet to witness tangible results of EIF initiative, officials believe Nepal´s status in the review will be better than other LDCs in terms of formulating policies and designing tools to boost export of the goods and services.

FDI policy, IEA drafts uncertain

Reforming the policies and Acts to create a favorable environment and ultimately lure foreign as well as domestic investors with mega investment in the country has been badly affected due to the prolonging transitional politics and uncertainty of holding next election.
The government´s plan to endorse a new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy replacing the existing FDI and One Window policy, 1992 and to enact new Industrial Enterprises Act (IEA) are unlikely to happen in the absence of parliament and full-fledged government in place.
“We are working on finalizing the draft of the FDI policy and IEA. However, it´s difficult to say what will be the fate of those drafts,” Anil Kumar Thakur, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry (MoI) told Republica on Friday.
The ministry, which is preparing the drafts with the help of United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID), has circulated them to the stakeholders for further discussion. “Similarly, we have outsourced expertise to develop a draft of a new FDI policy,” Thakur said. “We will try to push for endorsing the IEA through ordinance and FDI policy from the cabinet.”
The government even formed a high-level team under the leadership of Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry, vice-chairperson of the National Planning Commission (NPC), assigning it to study what should be changed in the laws to make them consistent.
The dramatic change in the political situation of the country after May 27 - when the Constituent Assembly (CA) was dissolved - and uncertainty about holding another CA elections has posed a serious constraint on endorsing new laws and policies.
“It is better not to bring new laws and policies without winning the confidence of the opposition,” Semanta Dahal, lawyer specialized in International Economics, said. “Investors´ psychology does not let them to come here with investment when political situation is so chaotic even though the government keeps all the policies consistently.”
Meanwhile, the special economic zone (SEZ) bill, which the government was planning to bring through ordinance, is not in the priority anymore. According to a high-ranking official at the MoI, the SEZ bill has been at the bottom of the government´s to-do list.
“We are trying to push for it since it is important to improve the situation of industrial sector. But it has been sidelined lately,” said the official.

IB seeks proposal on feasibility study of Kathmandu Metro from NMPL

The Investment Board (IB), entrusted with the task of immediately executing works on 14 mega projects including West Seti Hydro Project and Nijgadh International Airport, has written to Nepal Metro Private Ltd (NMPL) asking it to submit a detailed proposal on conducting feasibility study and the construction of Kathmandu Metro Railway (KMR).
Previously, NMPL had expressed interest to conduct the feasibility study and carry out the construction of KMR, but on condition that the metro project is handed over to it forgoing the bidding process.
According to a government official privy with the KMR project, the IB had established contact with NMPL based on the offer made by the company. “The Investment Board will take a decision on whether to hand over the project to NMPL after going through its proposal,” said the official.
A high-ranking official who has the knowledge of the issue said the IB had accepted the offer of NMPL as it lacks human resources for preparing the bidding documents for projects like KMR.
The Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management (MoPPWTM), which is currently conducting the feasibility study of the KMR, has raised no objection to the IB´s homework of extending construction license to the NMPL.
“We are currently holding discussions with the company (NMPL), though it´s in preliminary stage,” MoPPWTM Secretary Tulsi Prasad Sitaula told Republica on Thursday. “The company has said that it would bring in international investors mostly from Korea and Singapore.”
The government has currently outsourced the task of conducting KMR feasibility study to Korea Transport Institution, Chungsuk Engineering Company, Kunwa Consulting and Engineering Company, Korea Rail Network Authority and two local companies BDA Nepal Private Limited and EMRC Private Limited. Satisfied with the inception report prepared by the companies, the government paid Rs 60.5 million to the firms asking them to conduct a complete feasibility study.
Meanwhile, NMPL has said it would compensate the expenses incurred during feasibility study of the KMR if it secures the project.
But differences persist between the IB and MoPPWTM officials on whether to allow NMPL to conduct complete feasibility study of KMR.
“It´s better to let the companies that are currently working to finish the feasibility study,” Sitaula said. “We can negotiate with NMPL after getting the complete feasibility study report.”
IB CEO Radesh Pant refused to divulge details when asked about the negotiations.

Above 60 firms apply for rice export to China

More than 60 firms have registered expression of interest to export rice to China via Rasuwa and Tatopani customs after the government lifted ban on rice exports, allowing traders to export up to 5,000 tons from each customs points to the northern neighbor.
“The number of applicants is much higher than what we had expected,” said Narayan Prasad Bidari, director general of the Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM).
The cabinet meeting held a couple of weeks ago lifted ban on rice export. The government had banned rice exports in 2008. The government lifted the ban after the country started enjoying surplus of rice in the domestic market.
According to the Ministry of Agricultural Development, the country enjoyed food surplus of 443,000 tons in fiscal year 2010/11. It had forecast a food surplus of about 800,000 tons for previous 2011/12, of which 300,000 tons will comprise rice, the statistics show.
The preliminary estimation of crops production shows total paddy production was recorded at 9.45 million tons in 2011/12, up 9.8 percent compared to the previous fiscal year and 21.8 percent compared to 2009/10.
The DoCSM, which is entrusted to regulate the market and manage supply, has decided to give permission to all the applicants. According to Bidari, first 10 firms will get permission to export up to 200 tons. Similarly, another 20 firms will get permission for up to 100 tons and rest of the 6,000 tons will be divided among all the applicants.
“At present, we are screening the firms to ascertain whether they are eligible for cross border trade,” Bidari told Republica on Wednesday. According to him, the department will issue export permissions to firms by August 5.
Though the Ministry of Commerce and Supply (MoCS) had recommended allowing export up to 50,000 tons of rice, the cabinet has allowed exports of just 10,000 tons.

Govt to protect property of six firms from auctioning

The government has decided not to auction properties of six industries that have applied to be treated as sick industries for another six months as they are under-study to ascertain if they are actually sick.
According to Surya Kant Jha, under secretary at the Ministry of Industry (MoI), the government has proceeded to stop auctioning the property of Birat Leather Industries Limited, Birat Shoes Company Limited, Everest Floriculture Private Limited, Nepal Boards Limited and Siris Herbal Company Limited.
“These companies have applied to be treated as sick industries and we have requested NRB not to auction their property,” Jha told Republica on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the ministry is processing forward a request to the NRB not to auction property of the Dolphin Manor Wildlife Resort. “In last two weeks, 28 different firms have applied to be treated as sick industries,” Jha said. “However, only six firms out of total 28 have requested for protection from bank´s action.”
The ministry, which is entrusted to provide ´relief package to the sick industries´ has formed a technical team a couple weeks ago to study the actual situation of the industries which have applied to be treated as sick.
“It will take around six months to complete the whole process of study,” Jha said. “Till then we have decided not to auction the property of those firms.” The government, however, has not finalized the criteria to identify the industries which are actually sick. “We have asked for certain information of the firms. The first phase of study will be based on that information. Only then we will go for field study of the industries,” Jha disclosed.
The ministry has asked for Rs 2.6 million from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to conduct the field study of the industries. “The technical team that has been formed in the ministry has the ultimate right to decide whether the industry is sick or not,” Jha said.
However, the ministry has not received any response from the NRB and MoF regarding its request. “I think the NRB and MoF will be positive about it since both of them were in the high level 8-member Sick-Industries Rehabilitation High-Level Task Force (SIRHLTF) under the leadership of Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry, vice-chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC), which prepared a report with recommendation to revive the sick industries.
Interestingly the government, formed around a dozen of different committees , in last 10 years to study and uplift the situation of sick-industries in the country. All of them recommended what should be done but none of them precisely defined the criteria for sick-industries. The situation of sick industries is same now as it was in 1994 -- when the first committee was formed to restore the situation of sick industries.