This is no sarcasm, considering the skyrocketing prices of onions across the country, currently at NPR 230/kilo.

After being priced NPR 200/kilo on November 25, 2019, the prices went up NPR 30/kilo in a single day, touching the record high of NPR 230/kilo.

The reason is lack of supply after India stopped exporting the vegetable to the Himalayan nation. Nepal has 98% of its onion demand met by Indian imports.

The price of onion has been on a rising trend since two months as India imposed ban on export of its onions citing low harvest.

Retail Prices of Onions in 2019

• July 15 – NPR 50/kg
• Aug 23 – NPR 70/kg
• Sept 17 – NPR 100/kg
• Sept 30 – NPR 140/kg
• Oct 31 – NPR 100/kg
• Nov 16 – NPR 180/kg
• Nov 19 – NPR 190/kg
• Nov 21 – NPR 200/kg
• Nov 25 – NPR 200/kg
• Nov 26 – NPR 230/kg

Responding to the situation, government authorities are literally suggesting consumers to stop consuming onions.

“The import of onion has almost stopped. Smuggled onion is not enough to meet the soaring demand in the domestic market. Our domestic production is paltry. Against this context, we can do nothing except to ask consumers to stop or lessen onion consumption,” says Binaya Shrestha, deputy director of Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market Development Board.

Shrestha explains that there are only 35 tons of onions available in the country now against the usual demand of 270 tons in Kathmandu alone.

He says increasing domestic production is the only short and long-term strategy to curtail the shortage or sudden price hikes of onion.

“Imports are always costlier. Now, we need to learn a lesson from this situation to focus on production of onion in our own country and be self-reliant,” Shrestha adds.

While Chinese onions are an option, Nepali traders won’t prefer them. “Chinese onions are larger in size and have a lot of water portion in them. The taste of Chinese onions is not preferred by Nepali people,” says a vegetable supplier.

Looking at the scenario, one of the households admits that she has completely stopped using onions and looking for alternatives, as they don’t see any scope of price control.

The post Nepalis Tear for Onions, ‘Record’ Prices at NPR 230/Kilo appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

As the reports say, Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) has failed to launch the online trading system even after the announcement, almost a year back in July 2017.

Insufficient preparation is being cited as the reason behind not bringing the fully-automated electronic trading system of shares, in the secondary market, to live.

“We are going to introduce the fully-automated online trading system of shares to make the secondary market more systematic, effective and investor-friendly. But it will take a few months more to implement the system,” says Murahari Parajuli, Nepse Spokesperson.

According to Parajuli, it will take few more months to bring the system to a fully operational status, majorly because of some pending issues associated with the software that runs the system.

“Works to launch the electronic trading system are still ongoing. The software that will be used for the online system has 16 components, which include pre-trading, trading, and post-trading provisions. Tests for components like order placements and new listings are being carried out,” he adds.

The announcement related to the introduction of the online trading system in Nepal was made in July 2017, with an intention to replace the existing semi-automated system used for stock trading.

The new system is expected to bring in more investors to buy or sell their shares in Nepali stock market. The system had its initial deadline in mid-November 2017, which did not materialize.

It’s time Nepse should act fast to give a new hope to the country’s trading system and its traders.

Also Read:

• Nepal Receives Proposal for First Commodity Exchange

The post Electronic Trading System Still a Question in Nepal appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Government of India said this in its Gazette notification on October 27, 2017, wherein, it announced the removal of GST on supply of its services to Nepal and Bhutan in case of payments made in the Indian currency.

Though GST is not applicable on export of goods and services, it was exempted only for the payments that involve convertible foreign currencies.

With this, the cost of service exports involving cargo handling, transportation and container freight station became costlier. This turned into a burden for Nepalis, who usually transact with the Indian service providers in the Indian currency.

Following this, the Government of Nepal and the country’s private sector sought GST exemption on Indian service exports to Nepal.

In response, in the last week of September 2017, the Indian Government announced GST removal on Indian services involving transit operations such as shipment, transportation, insurance, container freight station and cargo handling charges, among others for Nepal and Bhutan.

Transit and cargo handling are among the major service imports Nepali traders get from India.

Decision Positive for Nepalis

According to Hari Bhakta Sharma, President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), the removal of GST would save Rs 10 billion per year on service imports for Nepali traders.

Rabi Shanker Sainju, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce Nepal, opines that the decision makes it easier for Nepali and Bhutanese traders to transact in Indian currency, which is widely circulated in both the countries.

The recent amendments to GST rules on the recommendation of GST Council of India will boost service exports from India to Nepal, Sainju added.

It’s noteworthy that the Nepal Rastra Bank also encourages Nepalis to make payments in Indian currency.

The post GST: Nepali Traders Exempted on Service Purchases Through INR appeared first on Nepali Sansar.