A consortium of Hulas Steel, Bhagawati Steel and Mainabati Steel that was selected through a global tender supplied around 98,000 units of Swaged Tubular Poles and Telescopic Poles worth $13 million (Rs 910 million) to the Dragon Kingdom during the period.[break]
“Exports of iron products from Nepal surged heavily during the period. The consortium mainly supplied electricity transmission poles and fitting accessories to Bhutan Power Corporation for a project assisted by the Asian Development Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Bhutan,” T C Gupta, managing director of Mainabati Steels, told Republica on Tuesday.
Though India is one of the largest producers of electricity poles and a supplier of iron blades to Nepal firms, the Nepali consortium beat aspiring Indian firms in the global tender because of low freight due to Nepal´s proximity with Bhutan.
“Lower transportation cost and better quality of our products helped us beat other competing firms in the bidding,” added Gupta.
The Nepali consortium is soon supplying around 7,100 electricity poles to Bhutan under the same contract.
The unprecedented rise in export of electricity transmission poles pushed Nepal´s exports to Bhutan to a record high of Rs 1.55 billion, including export of iron and steel products worth Rs 1.02 billion, during the fiscal year 2009/10.
Similarly, the country exported iron and steels products, including electricity poles, rods and angles, worth Rs 240.45 million during the first eleven months of the fiscal year 2010/11, shows data compiled by Trade and Export Promotion Center (TEPC). Total exports to Bhutan during the period stood at Rs 421.4 billion.
“Huge exports of iron and steel products to Bhutan over the past one half years have established these products as the country´s largest export to its South Asian neighbor,” said Binod Acharya, under-secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies.
“Until a couple of years ago, the demand for these products from Bhutan was negligible.”
The Dragon Kingdom, which is trying to fully harness its hydropower potential, also imported electricity transformers amounting to Rs 212 million during 2009/10 -- a rise of Rs 30 million as compared to figures of 2008/09. Similarly, exports of soap, standard wire and pasta stood at Rs 21.5 million, Rs 139.9 million and Rs 20.9 million respectively in 2009/10.
Nepal´s import from Bhutan stood at Rs 133.1 million in 2009/10. The country imported cement and Gypsum worth Rs 13.3 million and Rs 30.7 million respectively during the period. Similarly, imports of coal, juice and textile machinery touched Rs 48 million, Rs 13.3 million and Rs 19 million respectively.
Bhutan with population of about 700,000 has emerged as a potential export destination for Nepal in recent years. Nepal enjoyed all time high trade surplus of Rs 1.42 billion with Bhutan in 2009/10.
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