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Government Policy Blamed for Sorry State of Rice Industries

Import of Rice Double than Paddy

  1 min 19 sec to read
Government Policy Blamed for Sorry State of Rice Industries
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May 28: The government has created a hype regarding its plan of making the country self-reliant on food grains. But the fact is that the country is dependent on import of food grains since many years due to the government’s own policies. Local entrepreneurs complain that import of rice has led to the collapse of their business while the government has limited its policy to protect home-grown industries only to a slogan.

“The government’s policy encourages import,” said Rajesh Rungata, operator of Om Agro Products.

The country’s rice industries are struggling because the government has prioritized the import of rice instead of paddy, he argued. The customs office charges 5 percent tax on paddy and 8 percent on rice. According to Rungata, two quintals of paddy is required to make one quintal of rice. Therefore, the importers have to pay 10 percent tax for paddy as compared to rice.

Subodh Gupta, chairman of the Association of Nepal Rice, Oil and Lentil Industries says that the local mills have started collapsing as the importers have to pay less for refined rice than its raw form.

According to Gupta, the government’s policy to promote import has resulted in the closure of 85 percent of over 2000 rice industries.

Data provided by the Department of Customs show that Nepal imported 422,000 metric tons of rice worth Rs 21.2 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. During the same period, the country imported 211,000 metric tons of paddy.

 

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