Blocked ginger export 
During his three-day India visit later this month Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is not expected to raise the issue of the sudden discontinuity of ginger export to the southern neighbor. He should. For ginger is one of the rare commodities that Nepal still exports in significant amounts, even as most other export items from Nepal have seen dramatic declines in recent times. Nepal is the third largest ginger producer in the world, behind only India and China, contributing 10 percent of the global market share. Over 90 percent fresh ginger from Nepal is exported to India. In return the country earns around US $6 million a year. But in the past seven days India has declined to accept any ginger from Nepal. India says it suspects Nepali ginger is laced with dangerous pesticides and will import it only if the Nepali side can give a clear proof that the ginger being exported is pesticide-free. But India is unlikely to have arrived at the sudden decision to decline imports from Nepal for this reason alone, for this has not been a big issue over the years.
 
Another reason behind India’s change of heart might be because it now believes that domestic ginger producers are able to meet its market demands. Indeed, ginger production in India, especially south India, has seen a precipitous increase in the past few years. It is worth noting that India over the past decade has made increasing its domestic agriculture production a priority. Big incentives are offered to its farmers. As a result, vegetable and fruit export to India from Nepal has virtually ground to a halt, with niche markets like betel nuts and ginger the only exceptions. Unless Nepal can similarly support its farmers—with subsidies, floor prices and latest equipment—they face an uphill battle. For not only will they struggle to penetrate the Indian market, their produce will struggle even in domestic markets flooded by cheap products from across the open border. Luckily, Nepali ginger, which is mostly grown in the hilly regions of Mechi and Koshi zones, are rich in essential oils and oleoresin, an essential compound used by food and pharmaceutical companies. So if Nepal could ensure consistent quality, there is potentially a boundless market for its ginger overseas. 

This in turn highlights the importance of diversifying our markets away from India. It is not in our national interest to so heavily rely on India: whether to supply us with petrol and diesel or to buy our ginger. China and the vast western markets remain largely out of reach of Nepali ginger farmers. Interestingly, India suspects that most of the ginger going to India does not originate in Nepal but in China. Indeed, hundreds of tons of Chinese gingers are illegally transported to India via Nepali territories. India fears that its chief geopolitical rival is trying to flood Indian markets with Chinese goods, at great cost to local Indian producers. Nepal must do more to crack down on this flourishing illegal trade in order to persuade India to rethink its recent ginger ban. Again, exploring other markets does not mean we don’t tap into the most accessible Indian markets. So it’s not a question of ignoring India or China. It’s rather a question of deft handling of our external relations with renewed focus on economic diplomacy, which has come to be the cornerstone of relations between sovereign states in the 21st century. 

 
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