April 22: Shipping companies providing transportation services to Nepali businessmen for overseas trade have hiked their fare arbitrarily.

Nepali importers complain that the shipping companies have raised the fares by almost four folds.
Ganesh Prasad Lath, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Province 2, claimed that the shipping companies have increased the fares up to four times in the last seven months. He said that the transportation cost per container from China and European countries used to be US$ 1,500 before last September, but now it has been increased to US$  6,000.
Earlier, the shipping companies had been transporting 40-feet long containers to the dry port of Birgunj for US$ 1,500. “Shipping companies have increased container fares to make the best out of the growing production and trade after the lockdown. This has increased the cost of imported goods and also the local products,” said Lath.
Entrepreneurs claim that consumer prices have been affected due to the increase in the transportation cost of imported goods. Prices of food and other daily necessities have skyrocketed.

Although production and trade had declined with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, demand has risen as conditions have returned to normalcy.
Trade with third countries has also improved since Nepal lifted the lockdown in last September.
Importer Navneet Agrawal said that the shipping companies raised the fare to gain from the growing demand for transportation with the  growth in volume of trade.
“Foreign trade, which came to a halt during the lockdown, naturally increased as it became convenient after lockdown was lifted. On this occasion, the shipping companies increased the fare,” Agrawal informed New Business Age.
This not only increased the price of products but also the cost of domestic production with the growth in the price of imported raw materials.
Importer Om Prakash More shared that the shipping companies have been increasing the fare every week.
Nepal’s Consulate in Kolkata is not aware of the increase in container fares. However, Consul General Ishwar Raj Poudel said that the shipping companies have not made any formal/ informal announcement about the change in price.
"Importers have not reported any increase in fares so far. If anyone informs us about such a problem, we are always ready to facilitate them,” said Poudel.
President Lath has urged the government to take initiative to reduce the fare.
"Shipping companies do not heed importer requests. The solution will only come out if the government takes effective initiative. The government could reduce fares by taking a policy of incentives for low-cost shipping companies," he added.
"The trade, which had come to a standstill during the coronavirus pandemic, has grown in recent times. As trade increased, so did the demand for containers. This is an opportunity for shipping companies to make fast money,” said More.