Ramhari Karki
President
Nepal Himalayan Cross-Border Chamber of Commerce
The Bhotekoshi flood swept away goods worth two billion. Risk of price hike up to 20 percent: Ramhari Karki
Dashain market in crisis due to closure of Rasuwa and Tatopani border points: Ramhari Karki
Kathmandu On the eve of Dashain and Tihar, the supply of goods related to the festivals coming from China is in crisis. On Wednesday, the flood in Rasuwagadhi swept away about 200 containers of goods. Due to the indefinite closure of the Rasuwagadhi border point due to the floods, the price of some goods in the market is at risk of increasing by about 20 percent.
According to Ramhari Karki, president of the Nepal Himalayan Trans-Border Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the vehicles swept away by the floods were clothes, shoes, electronics, fruits and other goods imported for the Dashain and Tihar festivals.
“We are worried that the goods that entrepreneurs are importing from China will not be available in the market immediately as the goods targeting the festivals have been washed away by the flood,” said Karki. In such a situation, after the Chinese government closed the Tatopani border point for an indefinite period, now the main option to import goods from China has become the Corolla checkpoint.
However, it takes 6 to 10 days to bring goods from Tatopani to Kathmandu via Korala border point, which has put more pressure on the supply system. The cost of transportation has also doubled. Earlier, the fare of a container was around Rs 1,75,000 to Rs 2 lakh, but now it has increased to Rs 300,000 to Rs 4 lakh, said Karki. He said that due to the lack of vehicles, it is difficult to get containers even after paying expensive fare. He said that due to the increase in the cost of transportation, the price can increase by 10 to 2
0 percent in the market. However, he said that there is a greater risk of shortage of essential goods during the festival than the increase in prices.
It is also not possible to solve the immediate problem by bringing goods by sea. Karki said that although it takes about 12-13 days for the goods to reach Kathmandu by land from China, it takes 55 to 65 days by sea so there is no possibility of the goods being sent now to reach the market before Dashain and Tihar.
Although the exact details of the damage caused by the floods are yet to be prepared, the association’s preliminary estimates suggest that goods worth more than Rs 2 billion have been destroyed. “This is based on the assumption that a vehicle carries goods worth Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2 crore,” he told Nepal News Bank.
This will also have a direct impact on the government’s revenue. According to Karki, the government had set a target of collecting Rs 50 billion in revenue from Rasuwa and Tatopani border points this year, but the businessmen had already paid Rs 17-180 million from the goods of vehicles swept away in the floods.
Karki stressed that the Nepal government should hold bilateral talks with China to bring the Tatopani border point into operation immediately. He said that the Lamabagar border point of Dolakha should be developed as an alternative trade route in the long run.
After the floods halted Nepal-China trade through Rasuwagadhi border point, 176 containers carrying goods to Nepal have been stopped at Kerung on the Chinese side. He said that it is difficult to bring all the goods at once as there are only 74 drivers for these vehicles. In particular, the risk of rotting has increased due to the prolonged stalling of fruit containers.
Karki said that 76 people associated with the association are still missing due to the floods. He said that the economic impact of the festival may be more serious after the festival as the businessmen who brought goods for Dashain after taking loan from the bank have lost their belongings and vehicles. The association has also started discussions on providing cash assistance to the affected businessmen.
Association’s general meeting postponed after Rasuwa floods
The association has postponed its general assembly and election process due to the severe floods and landslides in Rasuwa. The scheduled program has been postponed after the businessmen associated with the association were affected by the floods.
According to Karki, the program was scheduled to file candidacy on August 30 and hold a general meeting on August 19 to elect a new leadership. However, the program was postponed as the businessmen had to be busy in rescue, search for relatives and management of damages after floods and landslides occurred in Rasuwa on August 26.
“There is a need to find someone’s relatives, there is a pain of losing someone’s belongings. After the body is found, it takes time to perform the last rites, so there is no situation to hold the general meeting now,” Karki said. Karki said that the election process has been postponed until further notice.
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