Nepal has been spending billions of rupees on importing polythene granules used for manufacturing polythene pipe and plastic products. In the first seven months of the fiscal year 2010-11, Rs 4.82 billion was spent to import plastic granules, according to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC).

 

“The export this year compared to that of the same period last year is 55 per cent more,” said Suyash Khanal, the Director of TEPC. He added that the granules import has increased due to the increasing production of plastic products and pipes. The TEPC expects that Nepal would import granules worth Rs 7 billion by the end of 2010-11.

 

Saudi Arabia accounts for 35 per cent of all the plastic granules imports in Nepal. In 2009-10, granules worth Rs 1.52 billion were imported from Saudi Arabia alone. Apart from Saudi Arabia, granules are imported from Qatar, Thailand, UAE and other countries, said Khanal.

 

Khanal further informed that though the polythene pipes required for domestic consumption is produced within the country, the import of such pipes has not stopped. Such pipes are still being imported from India and other countries. The import of finished pipes is cheaper than importing raw materials, according to Kamal Jain, the Chairman of Hilltake Industries Pvt Ltd. Jain said that unless government reduces import duty on raw materials, importing readymade pipes will continue unabated.

 

In 2009-10, Nepal exported pipes worth Rs 82.2 million to India. In the same year, Nepal imported pipes worth Rs 180 million from other countries, according to the TEPC data.