KATHMANDU, July 16: Supply of fruits including mango and pineapple has reduced by around 80% after pesticide residue test has been made mandatory for fruits and vegetables coming from India.
“Nowadays, we supply only 15-20 tons of mangoes every day due to pesticide issues.
We demand more but it takes around three-four days to complete the process of pesticide residue testing nowadays,” said Kashi Ram Sapkota, treasurer of Nepal Fruits Wholesalers Association.
There is no much difference in supply due to flood in various districts but quarantine test has been affecting the supply nowadays as the process takes 2-3 days to reach the retailers.
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Sapkota said that the Department of Customs, Kakarvitta is just opened for four hours a day. “We used to supply 8-10 tons of pineapple from India every day. However, now we supply only 15%-20% of the normal supply,' Sapkota said.
He said that the supply of pineapple was almost stopped for three days because of floods in the Koshi region. Sapkota said that as it was only the season for mango, there was not much fluctuation of supply of other fruits.
According to traders in retail and medical sectors too, floods have not affected the supply, as most of them have storage facility for the products.
Binod Kumar Manadhar, general secretary of Chemical and Medical Suppliers Association said that they usually keep store for three months for all the medical supplies. “However, as usual, we always face challenges in terms of bringing medical supplies from India,” he said.
Pabitra Man Bajracharya, president of Nepal Retailers Association, said the retail sectors have enough storage facility for the next 5-6 months.
