KATHMANDU, April 30: After wheat and rice, India will also now stop exporting sugar. The Indian government has started preparations to stop the export of sugar after it became difficult to meet the domestic demand.
Stopping the export of wheat had a direct impact on the Nepali kitchen. However, after the continuous efforts of the Nepali government and Nepali businessmen, India had set a quota of 50,000 tons of wheat to export.
According to sources, India will also stop exporting sugar. However, there is no official notice yet. There is an annual demand of 300,000 tons of sugar in Nepal. Nepal's production meets 50 percent of the total demand. The remaining 50 percent of sugar comes from India.
Nepal exports electricity worth Rs 8.32 billion to India
However, due to the sudden increase in the demand for sugar in India, the export is about to be stopped. As soon as India stops exporting sugar, it will have a direct impact on Nepal. Nepal imports the highest quantity of sugar from India. India is the second largest producer of sugar in the world.
Apart from that, Nepal also imports sugar from Pakistan. The ban imposed by India is in line with the steps taken by various countries at a time when prices are rising sharply in some countries due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Sugar is the main raw material for industries like biscuits, confectionery etc. As soon as India bans sugar exports, like wheat, the price of sugar will also increase and consumers will have to buy it at a higher price.
When India banned the import of wheat, consumers had to pay high prices when wheat entered Nepal illegally. When the legal route of sugar is closed, sugar comes to Nepal through illegal routes.
The government has fixed the customs duty on sugar at up to 40 percent. It seems that if sugar comes from illegal routes, Nepal will lose a large amount of revenue and consumers will also have to pay high prices.
