November 30: India has imposed an unofficial blockade on sugar and fertilizer that the Salt Trading Corporation (STC) was set to import to Nepal. STC informed that the Indian Railways Board has restricted its access to the containers carrying the goods under the pretext of renovation of the railways.

The import of sugar and fertilizer to Birgunj, a major city on the Nepali side of border, has come to a halt after India restricted the access to railway containers. The demand for chemical fertilizers increases when agricultural season nears. But the STC and Agriculture Inputs Company Limited stated that they have chemical fertilizers available for the time being.

The Ministry of Agriculture informed that the government has been unable to supply new chemical fertilizers after the obstruction at Kolkata port and restriction to the railway containers.  Ishwori Pandey, chief at the Agriculture Products Procurement Department, said that the problem has not been solved even after initiation taken by the Kathmandu-based Indian Embassy and the Consulate General of India since a month.

“India has imposed a kind of unannounced blockade on fertilizer,” Pandey told New Business Age, adding, “India has not let the import of fertilizer take place since Dashain festival.”

According to the STC, 40,000 metric tons of fertilizers and 10,000 metric tons of sugar have been languishing at a godown in Haldia, India since last month.

Pankaj Joshi, divisional manager at the STC, said that the Indian Embassy has cited political reasons behind the halt in import of sugar and fertilizers. He also informed that he will be leaving for Haldia, India on Friday to get details about the problem and to find a solution.  

Pandey, on the other hand, said that the government must seek political solution to the problem rather than trying to solve it at the lower level.

Nevertheless, the STC has said that the people will not have to face scarcity of sugar till the upcoming election.

Joshi informed that the corporation has 10,000 metric tons of sugar which will be sufficient for a month.

“There is sufficient amount of sugar that will be enough till election but the import is necessary to fulfill the market demand,” he added.