KATHMANDU, Feb 20: Chemical fertilizers brought from China have been stored in the Tatopani customs warehouse for ten months. As many as 735,000 sacks of chemical fertilizers brought by 111 containers throughout the Nepali month of Baisakh have been stored in the warehouses inside the Larcha dry port yard.
Dayanand KC, head of Tatopani Customs Office, says that despite an agreement between the Krishi Samagri Company Ltd. and the importer, it is difficult to load and unload other goods as the fertilizer cannot be lifted from the warehouse.
Farmers to face fertilizer shortage next year too
In particular, there is a situation where other materials that have arrived at the Tatopani dry port should be kept inside the customs office for inspection. He said that since the revenue of chemical fertilizers is not collected, the Krishi Samagri Company Ltd has taken them from Chinese cities and brought them directly to the capital.
Silk Market Pvt Ltd, under the Silk Company, which has been operating for five years at the Tatopani crossing, which was opened after the earthquake and pandemic, has imported fertilizer from China. Silk Market Pvt Ltd has a contract to import chemical fertilizers from Krishi Samagri Company Ltd of the Government of Nepal. The contract was signed in the fiscal year 2022/23.
According to the agreement, Silk Market could not bring the chemical fertilizers on time. Ramesh Sherpa of Silk Market said that after the fertilizer that was supposed to be brought last year was imported only in Jestha of Nepali month this year, the Krishi Samagri Company Ltd refused to take the fertilizer.
Sherpa said that he is holding discussions with Krishi Samagri Company Ltd and after the process is completed, the fertilizer will be taken to Kathmandu. Farmers who grow winter crops are in trouble when fertilizer is stored at the customs offices.
